Rise of the Guardians: The Last Guardian
by GuardianAngel1234567
Summary: North, Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, Jack and Manny; The 6 Guardians chosen to protect the innocence of the Children of the world. But after they accidentally reawakened the evil Father Time, will they still have the strength and courage to stop him? And who is this mysterious girl? Is she the key to saving the world, or destroying it?
1. Prologue

A long time ago, when the Earth was young, Time existed. Both lived in harmony and worked together to preserve the gift of life.

Mother Nature, as she was called, breathe life to every creature of the skies, of the sea and of land. Whilst, Father Time preserved those precious lives and the moments they have shared with one another, especially those of humans. During those times, the world was a peace. But everything ended when one betrayed the other.

While Father Time had the power to preserve the past and change the flow of time, Mother Nature had the power to control all elements and she had the love of a mother. She took care of her people and in return, they loved her back. This surged envy to course into Time's veins.

When Time refused to lower down the sun to make way for the day, Earth's people suffered upon living in the shadows of the night. Concerned for her peoples' safety, Nature pleaded and tried to reason with time to bring out the sun. But envy grew into darkness.

It corrupted Time's heart and forced him to turn against all creation, destroying everything in his path, especially Mother Nature. The more life Time took, the more Nature suffered and eventually grew weaker. But with the last of her strength, she defeated Time and banished him from the surface of the Earth, sparing all life. However, it also cost her life.

The people of the Earth grieved for her. But as time passed, they slowly lose conscious of who she is, or who she was, and all the love she gave. Even after his defeat, Time continues to set his wrath upon the Earth. And now he has finally awakened from his long defeat…

* * *

**AN:**

**Hey! Now you've all noticed that I mentioned 6 Guardians in the summary. I just thought "Hey! Why not make it 7 Guardians of Childhood?" BTW, I decided to switch Mother Goose with the Man in the Moon since he appeared in the movie. Who's the 7th Guardian? Well, you'll have to read to find out. ;-)**

**(I transferred the story to the 'Rise of the Guardians' movie category)  
**


	2. Shattered

In the dark night of a forest, a ray of light found its way to a sleeping white-haired boy. He looked like he just suffered from a fall. He stirred in an uncomforting manner until the light shines into his eyes. He slowly got up and rubbed his head before turning his gaze on 5 other unconscious beings. He ran towards an elderly old man who began to stir.

"North. North!" He called to his mentor, and Guardian of Wonder who was also known as Santa Claus to the Children of the world.

The old man opened his eyes and halfway got up as he rubbed his aching head. The others, a hummingbird-fairy highbred, a giant Pooka, a short yellow man in yellow robes and a man in a shimmering star suit, began to wake up and realized that they have fallen in a forest.

"What happened?" North asks, still rubbing his head.

"Time!" Manny, the Man in the Moon and Guardian of Guidance replied in realization

"Midnight?" Bunnymund, the Guardian of Hope and the Easter Bunny, replied.

"No! Time!" Manny corrected, referring to the evil Father Time who was once one of the first guardians of the Earth only to be corrupted and tried destroying the world. Luckily, he was stopped by Mother Nature and was reduced to a cowering infant, literally.

A few days ago, the Guardians got word of a revolution of other beings who threatened to cause harm to the humans. Long have they been taking granted by the humans. Now it was time that they take back the land from whence they came. During those times, the Guardians found a small infant who was abandoned by his parents. A few twist and turns and fights led them to the Man in the Moon, Manny, the Guardian of Guidance. With his help, they were able to find Father Time's staff in hopes that reviving the moments of the Earth would remind the beings of how much fun they had with the humans. But in a twist of fate, it turned the small little infant into Father Time! With his powers returned his casted the Guardians away and began the Revolution that will bring out the destruction of the entire world!

The Guardians hung their heads in disappointment. How could they be easily fooled by the Master of Time and Destroyer of Earth, as a baby?

"I'm sorry." All eyes turned to Jack, "I-I, I shouldn't have given him the staff. I…"

"Hey. You weren't the only one who can take the blame, Mate." Bunny cut him off.

"We were all in this together." Tooth, the Tooth Fairy and Guardian of Memories, agreed.

"We should've known something was wrong with that 'baby'." North added, "And now he's back."

"And the children…" Manny added and the Guardians hanged their heads in disappointment.

Suddenly, a roar of thunder filled the skies. A drop of water fell on Sandy, the Sandman's eyes. The Guardians scrambled to find shelter as rain poured heavily from the skies.

"Over there." Jack pointed to a cave.

* * *

A little while later, the Guardians were drying themselves inside the mouth of the cave. Bunny shook the water off his fur and Manny followed. Jack took a good look at the sky and sadly gazed at the Moon. Years ago the Man in the Moon chose him as a guardian and he found his place as the Guardian of Fun. Now the guardians are facing a greater threat other than Pitch.

Lightning strikes the sky causing Jack to back away. The Guardians gathered in a sad circle and sat of the ground. Gold sand in a form of a question mark appeared on Sandy's head.

"What do we do now?" Tooth asked North. The others turned their gaze at Manny, waiting for an answer.

Manny was the oldest and first Guardian to be chosen by Mother Nature. He has known Mother Nature for years even witnessed her final stand against Time.

Suddenly, he stood up in determination.

"Nothing." The Guardian of Guidance replied sadly.

"Nothing?" Jack asked in surprise as he stood up, "We can't just stay here and let Time take over the world! Come on! There are children out there who are counting on us. We can't just let Time destroy the world all over again now that…" He stopped abruptly as the others stared at him as if knowing what he was about to say.

"Now that _she's_ gone." Jack finished sadly then crouched in a sad position. The others followed. Long ago, Time was defeated by Mother Nature who sacrificed her life for her people. Now that she was gone and Time revived…

The others grieved over their mistake as Jack threw a rock in disgust. The rock bounced off a surface causing it to crack. A ray of light appeared from the crack attracting Jack's attention. The Guardians followed his gaze as more cracks appeared. The glow became brighter as more cracks appeared. Finally, when the last crack formed, the whole cave was immersed in a glow of light that the Guardians had to shield their eyes.


	3. Kat

The light soon disperses and the sun began to shine, revealing an unconscious young girl, probably the same age as Jack. She has long brown hair flowing on her white nightgown. The Guardians crowded around her curiously. She suddenly stirred and opened her eyes. She became surprised upon seeing the Guardians and backed against the wall.

"Uh, hi." Jack greeted the girl.

"Hi." The girl replied back. Her gazed turned towards the other guardians until she saw the light from the outside.

Curious, she slowly got up and walked towards the exit of the cave, unmindful that the Guardians let her pass. As soon as she stepped out into the sun, she felt a warm sensation inside of her and smiled. As she looked around, the forest seemed so much cheerful than before; birds were singing, deers were grazing, bees were buzzing, squirrels were chirping… All seemed well with the world (except for a revolution that was about to happen).

The young girl was too busy gazing at the beauty around her that she didn't know that she was walking on still water. _Literally_! She was_ actually_ walking _on_ still water. Her feet weren't even _in_ the water. She giggled as she felt the water under her feet. She twirled around, enjoying the sensation, until she tripped and fell on the bush. Despite that, she was still having fun.

"Wow." A bewildered Bunnymund stated to Jack in amazement as the girl plopped happily on the bush, "Fun-loving, playful, and has no idea that she just awoke from a cave. Now if only she was…"

Before he could continue, the girl emerged from the bushes, revealing that she was bare foot, just like Jack.

"Jack," Bunny teases Jack, "You never told us you had a sister."

"Okay. First of all; I was going to tell you guys that I had a sister." Jack complained, "Second; we're not twins. And third; that's not my sister. No offense… What's your name?"

"K-k-kat?" The girl replied in a confusing manner. Either she forgot her name, or she doesn't know her name at all, "I, think."

"Aw, poor thing." Tooth flew to comfort the confused girl.

That's when the confused girl's face brightened up upon seeing Jack's… feet? Like a crazed preying tiger, she tackled the winter spirit and held him by the feet.

"Oh my god!" She happily cried, "Feet! Bare feet!"

"Yeah. I can see that." A surprised yet embarrassed Jack replied, "In fact, _we _can really see that."

"Oh. Sorry." The girl, Kat, apologized sheepishly as she let go of his feet, "It's just that I, it's just that I, I've never seen anyone bare foot in my whole life. I mean, from where I come, wherever I come, we always wear shoes, inside and outside." She smiled so sweetly that the male Guardians sighed heavily as she flashed her shiny teeth, which unfortunately, caught the attention of a certain Guardian.

"They're beautiful." She began "checking" her teeth, much to the girl's discomfort.

"Tooth, show some respect to the young lady." Manny scolded, "Excuse her, Miss…"

"Kat." The young girl finished, looking surprised.

"Miss Kat." Manny slightly bowed as if flirting with her.

"Please," Kat insisted, "Just call me 'Kat'. Or, I think that is my name, or was."

"So, you don't know how you got stuck inside a cave in the first place." Jack stated.

"Not really." Kat replied confusingly, "I don't even know how I… Natura!" She suddenly made a dash for the cave.

When the Guardians found her, she was kneeling beside a Palomino pony as if comforting it. It whinnied its head upon seeing the Guardians.

"Down, Girl." Kat cooed while petting its mane, "They're friends."

Surprisingly, the pony calmed down a bit and let its owner continue patting his mane as it stood up. Baby Tooth, one of Tooth's mini-fairies flew towards the pony. She hesitantly tried petting its head before the pony nuzzled on her and allowed her to hug her head which made the Guardians awe in response.

"Aren't we forgetting something?" Bunny asked, stilled mesmerized by the cuteness. That's when the Guardians' eyes widened in realization.

* * *

"How could we lose a herd of flying reindeer overnight?" Bunny asked in annoyance as the Guardians, including Kat and her pony, Natura, searched for North's reindeers that, unfortunately, were lost after the fight with Time.

"Well they're no ordinary reindeer." North replied while searching in the bushes.

Meanwhile, Kat was also searching for the reindeers when she suddenly found a butterfly. She laughed as the butterfly flew around her. That's when the butterfly somehow mysteriously changed the scenery…

* * *

_A little girl with black hair is seen happily chasing butterflies in a green meadow when she suddenly tripped and fell. Hurt, she was about to shed a tear if not for a gloved hand ruffling her hair, causing her to laugh. _

_She looked up. A kind warming face of a man in uniform smiled down at her. She returned with a wider smile on her face before being lifted up into his arms. As the man turned to take his leave, a swarm of butterfly flutter around the valley, delighting the young girl as she raise up a hand to catch a butterfly in front of her._

"_Kat!"_

* * *

"Hey Kat!" Jack interrupted Kat as she was about to catch a butterfly in front of her, only to let the butterfly escape from her grasp. Confused of the vision she just had, she turned her back to face the Winter Spirit.

"Oh. Hey… Jake?" She greeted.

"'Jack'." The young Winter Spirit corrected before rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous manner, "So, uh… I know this is a little weird for you. I mean, you did just wake up from a long beauty sleep… Not that's it's a beauty sleep at all… I mean, everyone thinks a girl's sleep is a beauty sleep, right? Not that I think you're pretty… which you are!"

"Apology accepted." Kat giggled to Jack's "apology", making the Winter Spirit chuckle nervously.

"So, want to search for the reindeer together?" Jack nervously asks.

"Sure." Kat cheerfully replied as the two headed to search for North's missing reindeer, unaware that a certain Guardian was spying on them.

"Ah, young love." Tooth sighs followed by Baby Tooth. Bunny adds a grumpy huff in response as he crushes a flower with one hand.

"'Not that I think you're pretty.'" North mockingly repeated Jack's words in jealousy.

"Come on, you guys." Tooth teased, "You're not jealous of Jack just because of a girl, are you?"

"What?" North asks in surprise.

"No." Bunny quickly responds, "That's silly. She's silly, right Manny?" He turned towards the Guardian of Guidance who was busy picking the petals of flowers angrily while angrily but silently stating "I hate him. I hate him! I HATE HIM!"

"Huh?" Manny suddenly stops and stares at Bunny in confusion.

"I rest my case." Tooth boasted cheerfully while flying away accompanied by Baby Tooth.

"Well, don't tell us you're not suspicious of how those two are getting along." Bunny tried to counter, remembering how Tooth was excited to meet Jack (all because of his teeth).

"Hey!" Tooth angrily flew towards Bunny's face, "Don't you say anything like that to a girl with teeth that shines like the sun, moon, and stars put together!" She sighs a bit, "They are so meant for each other."

"Y-you know there's more to love than pretty teeth!" Bunny protested.

"Like, uh, like…" North tried to find a good explanation, "Like hobbies, interests, and, uh, similar personalities."

"Race you to that tree!" Kat ran towards a tree.

"You're on!" Jack raced after her. The two laughed as the other Guardians were left in awe and North slapped his face in disbelief.

* * *

As the others were busy "looking for the reindeers", Kat and Jack were busy racing each other.

"Try to catch up, huh?" Jack flew over Kat who was running to actually catch up to Jack's flight.

Unbeknownst to the Winter Spirit, a sly grin formed on Kat's face. She jumped high, grabbed a branch, whirled around a few times and suddenly jumped ahead of Jack, surprising the Winter Spirit.

"Try to catch up, huh?" Kat teased while leaning proudly on a tree.

"Wow." Jack was surprised yet impressed, "First few minutes in the outside world and you're already making a good impression.

Suddenly, a bush rustled and a white-mane Palomino came charging straight at them. Jack began to flee, but…

"Whoa! Easy girl." Kat gently rubbed the nuzzle of her Palomino, "It's alright."

That's when more animals came out of their hiding places and began warming up to Kat as she began to pet each and every one of them, much to Jack's disbelief.

"Hey, you think at this rate we might actually find all of North's reindeers." Jack stated. That's when another bush rustled and reindeers began charging in.

While the frightened animals screamed and flee, Jack grabbed one of the reindeers' antlers and began riding it. The reindeer was not pleased with this and began bucking him off.

"Will… you…calm…" Jack tried to reason with the reindeer until Kat nuzzled its snout, "Down. Hey, can you get him to get us back to the others?"

"Race you there while we're at it?" Kat added.

"You're on!" Jack quickly replied and the two spirits began racing each other in the woods; Jack on a reindeer, Kat on Natura. The other reindeers trail behind them.

The two laughed as they raced each other. When Jack was gaining on Kat, the scene changed.

* * *

_A little girl on a pony is seen happily racing behind a man riding a black stallion. Still riding, the man looks at the girl and smiles at her._

* * *

The scene switches back to a confused Kat after she just witnessed another vision. While she was distracted, Jack created a trail of ice to gain speed. However, Natura got caught in the ice as well that she began to slip, causing her and the reindeer to collide and crash on a tree. Despite this, their riders laughed in delight as the other Guardians, who witnessed the race, ran towards them.

"I take back the whole sister bit." Bunny jealously said.

Suddenly, another rustle is heard from the bush and a small rat emerged from it.

"Aw!" Kat said in awe.

Suddenly, more rats appeared. They scurried in all directions as if surrounding the Guardians. A horde of mice began taking shape and dispersed, revealing a man dark clothing sporting a wide-brimmed hat which covers his entire face and a black cape with the symbol of a carved pumpkin on it. Only, he wasn't a man. As soon as he faced the Guardians, they were surprised to not see a human head, but an orange head of a carved Halloween pumpkin!

"Hello, Guardians." The Pumpkin King and the personification of Halloween flashed a sinister grin at the Guardians.

* * *

**AN:**

**Sorry about the character change. I just want a character who really screams "Halloween!". I hope you enjoy this. There's a reason why I labeled this "family". Plus, there's something more to "the visions" than meets the eyes. :-)**


	4. Trick-Or-Treat

"You know, whenever kids would see a pumpkin with a carved scary face, they would either use it to scare other kids or throw them at other people." The Pumpkin King stated as the mice were closing in on the Guardians and Kat, "You could say it was their way of saying 'Trick or Treat'."

"Oh. Then this must be _your_ way of saying 'Trick or Treat'." Jack retorted back as he pointed his staff at the mice, preparing for an all-out mice invasion.

"You always did have your own way of making Halloween more _interesting_, Pumpkin." North retorted.

"Unlike you, North, I don't have to make any whimsical toys and put myself to too much work just to make my holiday interesting." The Pumpkin King gloated.

"Whimsical?!" North asked, offended and shocked that one of his eyes twitched.

"Oh boy." Bunny covered his eyes in disbelief. An image of a violin being played appeared on Sandy's head, expressing his concern that the Halloween Spirit should never have said what he just said.

"Ohhh. Now you've done it you Mice-Taming, Trick-Or-Treating Pumpkin Pie-Head!" North retorted back in anger, which made the mice gasp in shock.

"Oh. It's on." The Pumpkin King twitched an eye in anger, "No one talks about my mice like that. Attack!" The mice began charging at the Guardians as the Pumpkin King turned his back and walked away with pride, until the sound of rampaging little feet stopped.

"Hey! Why the sudden…" As he turned his back in annoyance, his expression changed to surprise, with a mouth-hanging touch.

"Coochie-coochie-coo!" Kat tickled a mouse's belly. More mice surrounded her, waiting for her to give each and every one of them a belly rub, "Aren't you guys the cutest things that ever walk on four legs? And people thinks you're just pesky little vermin." The mouse was sadly nodding in agreement, "Well, they're just big meanies, especially that mean old North."

"Hey!" North protested in anger.

"Aw. That's nice." The Pumpkin King's expression softens as he watched his mice being nuzzled one-by-one, "Eh, feelings gone. Now get them or I'll stuff you in a candy sack!"

Surprised by their master's voice, the mice quickly returned to attack mode.

"Did we forget to mention that we're on an all-out mission to protect the children of the world for a Spirit Revolution?" Jack mentioned.

As he said that, the mice began charging at the Guardians. But before they could, Kat whistled and an aerie of hawk came swooping from the skies towards the mice, scaring each and every one of them.

"Sorry! I had to do that." Kat said.

Angered at this, the Pumpkin King produced two scythes on both hands and began striking at Kat, only to be stopped by North.

"I have to admit; you have one heck of a helping hand there, North." Pumpkin grinned, impressed of Kat, "Although, there is something about you that seem quite familiar. Let's find out, shall we?"

An all-out battle emerged between the Pumpkin King and the Guardians; The Pumpkin King strikes but was blocked by Jack's ice. He broke free and dodged one of Bunny's boomerangs and Sandy's Sand Whips followed by a blast of light from Manny. Pumpkin chuckled upon seeing the Man in the Moon in front of him.

"The Man in the Moon. Funny seeing you here, not all elderly and balding as time said you would." He mocked.

"As if he even knows me." Manny replied and produced 2 star-shaped shurikens which he hurls at the Spirit as Tooth swoops down to tackle a distracted Pumpkin King.

As the Guardians were busy fighting the Pumpkin King, Kat was busy strapping the reindeers to the sled, which she quickly accomplishes. She was about to get inside when she notices Natura standing beside Rudolph, one of North's reindeers. She galloped in place as if ready to pull the sleigh.

"Sorry girl. No more room for one more…" Before she could finish, as soon as she touched the reins that held the Reindeers, a vein sprouted from the ground and attached itself to Natura, strapping her to the reins. Apparently, Kat was not the only one surprised by this.

"No. It can't be." A surprised but horrified Pumpkin stated, only to be blasted by Manny and knocked onto a tree.

"Everybody on the sled!" North called out. The Guardians wasted no time to look back at a recovering Pumpkin King who quickly sent a colony of bats to go after the Guardians.

"And no nuzzling!" The Pumpkin King called.

The Guardians are already air-borne by the time the bats caught up to them. The colony divided themselves into two and tried to bump both sides of the sleigh.

"I didn't know your horse could fly." Jack said despite being almost thrown down by the impact.

Meanwhile, the other Guardians were busy holding off the bats. Jack soon helped out by blasting 5 bats with his staff, encasing them in ice.

"Don't let them anywhere near the reins!" North warned, thinking that the bats might chew on the reindeers' reins, causing the reindeer and Natura to separate from the sled and causing it to plummet to its doom.

Luckily, it didn't. As soon as the bats got closer to the reins, Natura just simply kicked them with her hooves. And when more came, she turned to Ninja-mode, surprising the Guardians, and the Reindeers.

"I never taught her that." Kat stated. Another impact was struck to the sleigh, forcing her to look back and stare angrily at the bats, "Bad bats. Shoo!" As soon as she waved her hand, a force of wind blew all of the bats away, surprising Kat and the Guardians, "Well that was weird."

With the use of his snow globe, North manage to transport the sleigh to, who knows. As soon as they left, the Pumpkin King hovered in the sky, standing atop his colony of bats only to look surprised and scared at the same time.

"Oh my God." He stuttered, "She just… And then the pony… and then the wind. He's not gonna like this."


	5. Going Home

A portal appeared out of nowhere and a sleigh driven by 9 reindeers and a pony flew out of it.

"Everyone alright?" North asked. No one answered. Instead he could only hear dizzy moaning.

"I apologize for dragging you into this." Manny told Kat as they got to their feet and then faced the other Guardians,"All of you. I shouldn't have..."

"Have what?" North asked, "Choosing a bunch of spirits to protect the innocence of the Children of the World?"

"Pitch was one thing." Manny pointed out, "But Time…"

"Hey. Time is no different from Pitch." Bunny interrupted. Manny just hung his head in shame.

"A long time ago, so to speak," Manny began, "Mother Nature gave birth to me to give light to the night. Soon everyone believed that there was a 'Man in The Moon' lighting the way, guiding them in the night. That belief was passed on from generations to generations. Every child believe that there's a Man in the Moon, but no one knew how he really came to be, nor do any know of his past. I couldn't save Mother Nature nor did I do anything to stop Pitch. I am a failure of a Guardian."

"No you're not." Jack disagreed, "You brought me back to life and made me a Guardian. Manny, you were the reason why we defeated Pitch and protected the Children of the World. You were the reason why we are all here. You are a Guardian, and Nature would be proud of that." The others nodded in approval and Manny gave a slight smile. But it didn't last long for he gained a headache, except, it wasn't just a "headache"…

* * *

_Children running in fear…_

_The Guardians, caged in separate cages…_

_Time aiming his staff at the sky…_

_The whole world, darkening…_

_Innocent people engulfed in darkness…_

_Kat, sadly turning her back at the Guardians. An arm behind her back is leading her away from them…_

* * *

Manny was out of breath after seeing the visions as the Guardians eyed him with worry.

"What did you see?" North asked as Tooth tried comforting Manny.

"Uh, what did he see?" Kat asked.

"As the Guardian of Guidance," Manny began straightening himself up, "It's my prime duty to oversee the balance of the world. Because of that, I was, 'gifted' with the ability to see the future."

"'See the future'?" Kat asked in surprised, remembering the past vision she had.

"North, the snow globe,please." Manny held out a hand at the Guardian of Wonder who quickly fished out one of his magical snow globes from his coat and tossed it to Manny.

The Man in the Moon concentrated hard and an image of a town appeared inside the snow globe. He began tossing it in mid-air where it smashed and opened a portal.

"I hope you're planning to make it snow, Jack." Manny said.

"Why?" Jack asked in confusion as they entered the portal.

* * *

A little while later, the sled appeared at the end of the portal.

"Because you're going home." North finished.

Jack's eyed widened at the sight of a town in front of them. There are usually 4 seasons that occur in the whole wide world; Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. But in this particular town, no matter what season come and go, it would always be snowing.

Burgess

* * *

In the vastness of space lies the Moon.

In the vastness of the Moon lays a glowing castle. So beautiful, so shiny, so peaceful…

A mysterious force of energy blasted open the doors of the castle. An elderly man with a staff with a clock adorned on the top stomped his way towards two thrones in the middle of the farthest end of the room.

"Oh Nature, if only you knew the pain I have felt all those years trapped in the depths of your inconsideration." Father Time sadly looked at a stained glass window depicting him and Mother Nature protecting the Earth. Suddenly, his sadness turned to anger, "All those years, alone, abandoned all because you had care about your people over your 'Little Brother'. But now, now is my moment to shine."

_Crack!_

"Lucky!" He called to the Leprechaun who just accidentally dropped a vase, "Stop ruining my moment to shine!"

"Sorry, boss." Lucky sounded like a member of a bad crowd.

"Cupid," He scolded a cherub who was busy admiring himself in the glass window, "I can't see my own reflection in the window."

"Désolé, Monsieur." The Spirit of Valentine apologise with a French accent.

The other spirits were busy examining the interior of the castle, much to Time's annoyance.

"And has anyone seen…" Before he could finish, a flash of orange forced the doors open and stumbled at Time, making him fall on his back.

"Bad News!" The Pumpkin King shouted, not noticing Time before him until he groaned.

"Please tell me you actually got those pesky Guardians." Time said as he got to his feet and began dusting himself of.

"Well," The Pumkin King began nervously, "If I did, I wouldn't have blurted out the words 'Bad News!', which I did… But I wouldn't! But I did and now you wouldn't probably like what you'll hear… which you will! And maybe not. I mean…"

"DID YOU GET THE PESTS OR NOT?!" Time asked an even more nervous Pumpkin King who began to break down to a sob.

"There was a girl!" He cried.

"Oh please." Time ignored him as if he was annoyed, "'The Pumpkin King vs the Tooth Fairy.' Very dramatic."

"It wasn't the Tooth Fairy." Pumpkin protested, "It was this girl with a pony who and then these growing plants." This caught Time by surprise.

"A girl?" He turned to face Pumkin, "With a pony? Growing plants?"

"The girl was making the plant grow." Pumpkin stated, "Actually, they were just some dead weeds but it looked like she brought them to life. And there was this blast of wind…"

"Brought back to life?" Time stopped him and asked. Pumpkin nodded in reply.

"It can't be." Time's face darkened as he reached into the Pumpkin King's mind and saw a vision of him fighting the Guardians as a young girl touched the reins of the reindeers and plants began sprouting from the ground, attaching themselves to the pony. From that vision, Time could see a strange multi-colored aura emitting from the girl and dead plants blooming into their luscious natural color. The scene shifted to the skies as the same girl blasted the bats away with the wind.

The vision stopped. Time paced back and forth as if somehow bothered by the revelation. He soon stopped and stared grimly at the stained glass window of him and Mother Nature.

"Goose." He called to a goose with glasses and a bonnet.

"Yes?" Goose asked.

Time waved his staff and an image of the Guardians climbing out of the sleigh appeared before them.

"I think the children would really appreciate a good 'Story Time'." A sly grin appeared on Time's face, and then on Goose.

* * *

**AN:**

**Okay. I have been thinking about this story for a very long "Time". I really want to make a good suspense about Kat's true identity and the next battle the Guardians will have to face. It there are any comments, please notify. The other spirits not mentioned but who were with Time are April Fools, the Thanksgiving Turkey, The Day of the Dead "bad crowd" and many more!**

**I do not own Rise of the Guardians. :-)  
**


	6. Snowball Fight!

"This is where my premonition started." Many said as the Guardians climbed out of the sleigh.

Meanwhile, Kat was busy taking off the reins of the reindeers and Natura.

"Hey!" North protested as Kat took off the reins of Rudolph.

"It's alright North." Kat insisted as she petted Rudolph's headd, "They won't bail on you." She teased, gaining a sly smile from North meaning "_Good one_", "Nice place you got here."

"Thanks." Jack replied, "I know it's less warm and slushier than the forest, but it's actually more fun to play in."

Kat giggled in response.

"Thanks for dealing with those bats by the way." Jack added.

"Oh they were just having a bad time with their bad master. Isn't that right Rudolph?" She asked as she hugged the head of the Red-nosed reindeer. Rudolph snorted in response.

"Wow." Jack looked impressed as he watches how Kat was able to calm down a wild fast ridden reindeer like Rudolph, "He wasn't this much friendly when I accidentally hit him with a snowball. You must have been a really good future-vet when you were all alive. I mean..."

"Yeah. That would explain the attention I'm getting." Kat knew what Jack meant, but she was still bothered about how she came to existence. Who was she before she died? How did she die? As these questions formed in her head, she began feeding Rudolph a carrot.

Jack was about to ask Kat where she got the carrot until he looked down and saw a group of rabbits surrounding Kat. Each rabbit was holding a carrot.

Baby Tooth heavily carries a carrot to feed Natura. Unbeknownst to the two, a certain Red-nosed reindeer was taking notice of Natura.

Rudolph sighed and munched on a carrot as he watch Natura taking the carrot from Baby Tooth and tossed it in the air in slow but attracting motion. The carrot slowly fell from the sky (in reality, it falls faster), but Natura caught it with ease. As she began to chew, she slowly turned her head and smiled seductively to Rudolph who began to blush. The two walked towards each other and laid eyes on each other as soon as Natura finished her carrot.

* * *

Wedding bells rang as the newly wedded pony and reindeer galloped from the chapel and rode the carriage driven by the other reindeers. Natura tossed her bouquet of flower at the crowd of spectators which was immediately caught by Baby Tooth. Due to the size of the bouquet, she dropped to the floor. The newlyweds eyed each other lovingly and began to kiss…

* * *

_SMACK!_ Rudolph opened his eyes and was surprised to see Bunny… lip-to-lip?!

The two quickly separated and began wiping the grossness out of their mouths. Rudolph looked back at Natura who was still busy chewing her carrot and realized that it was all a dream. A saddened Rudolph's bright red nose began to flicker out.

"Cheer up, Rudy." North patted the reindeer's antlers, "It's never that easy, but you'll get through, eventually."

"So, where do we start?" Kat asked as a sound of a snowball being thrown is heard.

"Let's start over there." Jack pointed and the others followed. That's when he noticed Bunny wiping his tongue, "What happened? You kissed a reindeer or something?"

Bunny glared angrily at his joke, not noticing his tongue still out.

"You keep an eye on them, okay Natura?" Kat patted her pony who neighed in response. Kat soon caught-up with the others.

"_Yes!_" Rudolph grunted happily in reindeer language.

"_She meant all of us, Lover Boy!_" Dasher corrected in reindeer language.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Guardians and Kat have already reached their destination. But where's the danger?

"Nothing unusual here." Jack said after he scanned the area.

Suddenly, something cold and slushy landed on Jack's back causing him to almost loose his balance. More snowballs came raining down on the Guardians and Kat.

"Take cover!" Manny cried and the group did.

"Just to let you know," Bunny shouted to Kat as they hid, "I actually..." He stopped as the sound of raining snowballs seized.

"Hold fire!" A voice of a young boy is heard.

The Guardians got out of their hiding place a notice a young brown haired boy running towards them.

"Jamie!" Jack cried.

"Jack!" The boy tackled Jack with a friendly hug. More children gathered around the Guardians. It has been like this ever since the Guardians defeated Pitch and restored the belief in children everywhere.

"Jack, where have you been?" A boy named Claude asked.

"My brain was screaming for a brain freeze, Man!" His brother, Caleb joked and the group laughed simultaneously.

One of Jamie's friends, a girl named Pippa, laughed so loud that she tripped in the ice and almost lost her balance if not for a starry helping hand of a certain Guardian of Guidance.

"Thanks." She said.

"You're welcome." Manny replied as he helped her up.

"Guys, this is Manny, the Man in the Moon." Jack introduced. The kids "wowed" in response.

"Cool!"

"So there's really a man in the moon."

"He actually lives in the moon?"

"Nice suit."

"He so dashing."

Unbeknownst to them, Kat was still hiding and at the same time watched as the kids crowded around Manny. Sophie, Jamie's little sister, held onto Manny's leg as he tries to shake him off. Kat laughed at the sight. But she was a little bit shy to meet them.

Suddenly, a loud angry bark of a dog is heard.

"Butch, heel!" A young girl with glasses, probably the same age as Jamie and his friends, was heading for the kids with an angry yellow Bulldog on a leash. The only problem was, the dog was pulling the girl with the leash and it was heading for the kids!

The menacing bulldog began to leap at Jamie as the poor boy looked away and prepare for his ill-gotten fate when...

_Slap!_

"Bad dog. Bad!" Jamie opened his eyes to see a teenage girl scolding at the Bulldog, "You should be ashamed of yourself."

The dog whimpered as if he was sorry for what he did. He slowly nudges Kat for forgiveness but she just crossed her arms and ignored him. This did not keep the dog from happy licking her face, still asking for forgiveness. Kat stood her ground but couldn't resist laughing as the Bulldog continued to lick her.

"Oh alright. You're forgiven." She laughed. The Bulldog barked happily, "But you better apologize to the poor boy you were about to make a meal from."

"Uh, I'm over here." Jamie said, stunned by the girl in front of him.

Kat turned around only to meet the stunned eyes of Jamie, and his friends.

"Uh… Hi?" Kat sheepishly greeted.

"AAAAHHHHH!" The new girl screamed in fear and began pointing at the Guardians, "Mutant rabbit! Mutant Hummingbird! Ghost Boy! Star-studded Freak! Sword-Maniac Assassin! Uh…" She stopped when it was Sandy's turn to be screamed at.

"Golden Ghost!" She finally screamed and began to panic.

"Maggie, that's the Sandman." Jamie tried to calm her down, "And that's…"

"Look, I don't know what you guys are trying to pull, but I have other important things to do than to hang out with a bunch of freaks." Maggie caught him off. This shocked the Guardians and the other children as Maggie pulled Butch away from Kat and began to leave in a huff, "Good-bye."

Despite his owner's protest, Butch clutched the ground indicating that he did not want to leave but that did not stopped Maggie from pulling him away even further, so he clutched a tree and the tree was uprooted as he was pulled even further.

"He wanted to say that he was sorry." Kat told Jamie.

"That would've been nice to know, if his owner wasn't so, so, you know." Jamie sadly said as he help Kat stand up. He suddenly cheered up a bit as he introduced himself and his friends, "Hi! I'm Jamie. These are my friends, and my sister."

"Hi. I'm Kat." Kat returned the greeting.

"Sorry about Maggie." Pippa apologized, "She's new in town and she has a problem…"

"Poking her nose in books than spending time throwing snowballs at her friends." Jack finished.

"If she even has time to make friends." Monty, another one of Jamie's friends, added.

Not too long ago, before the Guardians accidentally reawakened Time, a new girl arrived at Jack's hometown. Margaret Fitzpatrick, otherwise known as "Maggie", came from a very wealthy family. Due to being the eldest child in the family, she took her duty as heiress seriously by spending all her time in her books than believing in "silly fairy tales".

"Well, at least her dog was friendly." Kat looked back at Maggie as she strapped Butch's leash on a fire hydrant and sat on a bench to read a book.

"Hey. You guys want to join our snowball fight?" Jamie tossed a snowball on his hand, "Boys vs Girls."

"Sorry kids." North said, "We've been busy for a while and…"

"Just one game?" Claude pleaded.

"Please?" His brother added.

"You guys are way behind the girls, aren't you?" Jack teased.

"Wayyyy behind." Jamie corrected.

"Come on Jack." Kat teased, already going in with the plan, "Don't tell me you're afraid to take down a couple of girls, are you?"

"Is that a challenge?" Jack pretended to sound offended, "I'll have you know that I'm king of these town, and I've never missed a single target in all my life. In other words; I never lose in snowball fights."

"Bring it on, Frosty." Kat taunted, causing Jack to throw a snowball at her face.

"Ha!" Jack cried in triumph and the boys cheered. That's when realization came to Jack's face; they were suppose to prepare for the worst, not goof around and throw snowballs at each other. He turned to face the other Guardians to apologize when…

"Knock yourself, Jack. We'll keep an eye for trouble." North said.

"Yeah. They need you more than we do, Mate." Bunny agreed as Jack was hit with a snowball from behind. He then joined Kat and the kids in an all out Boys vs Girls snowball fight.

"Anyone hit in the face is out!" Jack cheerfully screamed.

"Can I get a stuffed unicorn this year?" Cupcake called to North, "I've been really good!"

"Sure... Wait, what just happened?" North asked in realization.

"You just let your competition play with the girl of your dreams." Tooth pointed out as North and Bunny stared in disbelief. Bunny then face palmed in disbelief.

Manny did not say anything. Normally, spirits and other supernatural beings are not seen if they are not believed in. But the kids instantly saw Kat the minute she came forth. And no one actually believed in her. How was it possible for a newly awakened spirit like Kat to be easily seen by children who never actually knows her?

* * *

_Splat!_

Meanwhile Jack, Kat and the kids were already having their snowball fight. Boys vs Girls, the girls hid behind their make-shift snow fort while at the same time evading the snowball attacks of the boys.

"'A stuffed Unicorn'?" Kat asked Cupcake.

"Just making sure I get what I want for Christmas." Cupcake replied as a snowball nearly hit her. She began throwing one back.

"Christmas?" Kat asked, confused.

"Yeah." Pippa threw a snowball at the boys, "You know; Santa Claus giving toys for girls and boys…" She was interrupted by a snowball hitting her back, "Oh, you've asked for it now, Jamie!"

"So, what's the deal between you and 'Frosty'?" Cupcake teased while throwing another snowball.

"Whoa, Girl! Let's not get too carried away." Kat protested quickly, "You kids are too young for this sort of thing." A snowball was hurled at her back and she counterattacked, "Jack Frost, you sly little raccoon you!"

"'Sly little racoon'?" Pippa cocked an eyebrow at Kat. Even Cupcake looked unimpressed.

"What?" Kat asked, offended, "Raccoons are sly little creatures." That only made the relationship between her and Jack obvious as Pippa and Cupcake looked at each other than giggled at her remark.

The moment was interrupted when they felt a giant impact on their fort. Kat looked outside only to see their fort almost damaged by a giant snowball.

"Hey! No ice powers!" Kat scolded Jack.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jack "innocently" said as he threw another snowball and hid behind the boy's snow fort as snowballs are hurled to them.

"So, what's the deal between you and Kat?" Claude asks.

"Is she a winter spirit?" Caleb asked.

"What?" Jack asked in surprise,"No, and no. She's just a friendly spirit we found along the way, whom we befriended and whom you guys weren't supposed to see since you guys don't know her, but you did and now she became our enemy whom we are supposed to defeat and rub snowballs in their faces when we win."

Suddenly, a snowball hit Sophie on the chest, causing her to fall on her back.

"Sophie!" Jamie cried as he came to his little sister's aid and held her in his arms.

The little girl stirred for a bit before a sly smile appeared on her face. Jamie, confused, jerked his head up at the sound of footsteps on the snow only to see the rest of the girls in front of him, armed with snowballs. In other words… IT'S A TRAP!

"Retreat!" Jamie quickly dropped Sophie in the snow as the boys ran to evade a fast multiple snowball attack. It turns out that Sophie was a really good snowball thrower as she quickly got to her feet and quickly threw lots of snowball to the boys.

"Deceived! And by my own little sister too!" Jamie cried as Sophie let out a victorious evil laugh.

"The things they do when they grow up." Pippa stated as she, Kat and Cupcake stared at a laughing Sophie, crept out by the sight.

Meanshile, the boys were still running, and screaming.

"Wait." Jack said and the boys stopped running, "What are we running away from? They're outnumbered. Attack!" There were more boys than girls. So why not?

The boys began hurling snowballs at the girls (not on the faces) causing them to fall on their backs.

"Looks like you girls are a little short of members." Jack taunted as he tossed a snowball in his hands.

He was about to toss a snowball at Kat only to be shot by a snowball. A rabbit appeared out of nowhere tossing a snowball in his paw.

"You!" Jack glared at the sly smiling rabbit. It was one of the rabbits that were with Kat. The _same_ rabbits who helped her feed North's reindeers and Natura. More of the rabbits appeared right next to their rabbit friend. Now they were helping Kat eliminate the competition and emerge victorious!

"Wait!" Jamie tried to come up with an excuse before the rabbits could even eliminate anyone of the boys, "We don't even know if you're girls."

Monty held up one rabbit and tried "checking" if it's a girl only to be slapped in the face once he touched its tail.

"Oh they're girls alright." Monty stated as the rabbit jumped out of his hands to give way for its friends to hurl snowballs at Monty's face, officially eliminating him from the competition.

"Take cover!" Jack cried while grabbing Monty as the girls continued to hurl snowballs at the boys.

Meanwhile, the other Guardians were busy scouting the town when something caught North's eye.

"This is terrible." He said as the others came to his aid.

"What?" Bunny held his boomerangs in defence, "The Pumpkin King? Time? Cupid?"

The others, except Manny, shudder at the mention of Cupid's name. You do not want to know why.

"Worst." North replied, "They're being beaten-up by girly bunny rabbits."

The others turned their gaze at the sight of Kat, the girls and rabbits overpowering the boys.

"Okay. Normally I wouldn't go against my own species." Bunny said, "But a couple of boys being beaten up by girl rabbits?"

"Claude!" Caleb rushed over to his brother who was hit on the face by a snowball.

"I'm sorry. I failed all of you." Claude apologized weakly.

"You fought well, soldier." Jack said as the wind carried Claude's body away from the battlefield.

"Two down, three to go." Kat said in triumphal. This was too much for the other male Guardians to bear.

"What do you say we lend them some helping hand?" North asked the others.

"Way ahead of you, Mate." Bunny agreed. Sandy punched the palm of his hand in response.

"Yeah, I think I'll just stick around and keep an eye out for Pumpkin, Time or any other spirits that could conjure up anytime." She flew along with Baby Tooth while whispering to herself, "Except Cupid."

"What about you, Manny?" North asked Manny who was busy looking at the kids.

"Huh?" Manny replied, "Oh no. I can't."

"Come on. It'll be fun." Bunny placed a paw on Manny's shoulder, "You don't want the boys to a couple of girls, would you?"

"I know." Manny broke from Bunny's grasp with a sad expression on his face, "It's just that, it's just that… I never had any 'fun' in my life before."

"What?" Bunny and North asked in surprise. Sandy made an alarm bell appear on his head.

"It's just that, I have always spent my time under the tutelage of Mother Nature that I never got the time to ever, you know. Plus, I never had any actual experience with children to actually, spend time with them." Manny sadly admitted.

"We know how that feels." Bunny admitted. A long time ago, before Jack officially became a Guardian, the Guardians were busy delivering joy to children that they never had any time to actually spend time with children.

"Come on!" North gave Manny a friendly slap on the back, "Give it a shot!"

"Well…" Manny sounded unsure.

"Do it or you'll end up like_ that_." Bunny pointed to Maggie who was still reading a book. Butch wanted to play fetch with her but she just grabbed the stick threw it at her back and continued reading her book, ignoring her dog's sad expression on his face.

"Let's go." Manny quickly changed his mind.

Jamie was about to be eliminated by Cupcake when a snowball landed on her face.

"I've been hit!" She cried as she fell backwards.

"Reinforcements have arrived." North called.

Bunny gave Jamie and Caleb a ride and they began hurling snowballs at the rabbits who tried to dodge them. Some were not fortunate, and they were hit on the face, eliminating them from the fight.

"Yeah!" Caleb cried out only to be hit on the face by a snowball.

"Yeah! In your face!" Tooth cried victoriously.

"Traitor!" Bunny stood up and began hurling snowballs at her, not noticing that Jamie was still clinging to him, "You said you were going on patrol."

Distracted, Tooth hurled a snowball at Bunny's face causing him to fall down, thereby eliminating him.

Jamie struggled to get Bunny off of him only to be hit by a snowball on the face. Manny dodged every snowball hurled to him and managed to hit Pippa, Sophie and Baby Tooth on the face, eliminating them.

"Not bad, Newbie!" Kat cried only to have the rest of her bunnies to be eliminated by Sandy.

"Who are you calling Newbie, Newbie?" Jack taunted.

Sandy flew to the skies and hurled snowballs at Tooth who evaded all of them. Then, at the same time, both hurled snowballs at each other on the face, eliminating each other from the competition (slow motion, please). Tooth fell in the ground.

"I did my best." She told Kat weakly.

"Looks like it's all up to me." Kat stared at the boys with determination.

""Hah!" North laughed, "We'd like to see you…" Before he could finish, a snowball landed on his face, eliminating him from the competition.

"Jack, look out!" Manny shielded Jack only to be hit by a snowball on the face and fell on his face.

"Noooo!" Jack cried, "You fought well, friend." Jack turned to face Kat and both began hurling snowballs at each other. Not one snowball hit the other's face.

The throwing immediately stop due to stress and tiredness and Jack fell back on the ground, out of breathe. That's when a shadow loomed over him.

"Game over, Frosty." Kat was about to hurl a snowball at Jack's face as he close his eyes to prepare for his humiliating defeat, when…

_Splat!_

A snowball hit Kat in the face causing her to fall to the ground. Jack got up and saw a snowball being tossed to the ground. Manny appeared out of nowhere tossing the snowball in triumph.

"Manny? But how…" Jack turned to the suppose fallen "Manny" only to see that it was an actual dummy that looked like Manny. He was never actually eliminated from the competition, "You sly Star Studded Freak, you."

"Oh please, you embarrassing _her_." Manny pointed to Kat.

Everyone cheered, especially the girls despite their loss. Everyone agreed that it was a fair, but fun fight. Everyone except Kat who still lay on the snow. But she was actually happy for the Boy's victory.

"I hereby dubbed you General Tsar Lunar of Burgess." Jack announced like a king as he "knighted" Manny with his staff and everyone cheered.

That's when Kat's vision turned dark…

* * *

**AN:**

******Now this is where it gets interesting. Since Manny is a Guardian and lives in the moon, I was thinking that he would be a man wearing a suit with glittering stars. Plus, he has the power to control light, stars, see visions of the future and become invisible. If there are any other supernatural beings you would want me to mention in my story, it would be nice to know. Hope you like it!** **:-)**


	7. I Don't Believe!

_Darkness enveloped the sky. Not a sound was heard except for the faint blow of the winter wind, enveloping everything in a blanket of cold and chill. The only source of light and warmth is a burning fireplace in the midst of a gathering of soldiers at war._

"_Many were sighted in this area over here." A soldier pointed at a section of a map._

"_If we could surround the perimeter, we would have the upper hand and capture each and every one of them." Another soldier said as the others listened. No one noticed a shadow entering the room._

"_What do you think, General?" Another asked a man who was staring at the fireplace, probably lost in thought._

"_It's risky." He turned around, a man in uniform, tall, black spiked hair and hazel eyes and stared at his subordinates grimly, "I don't want to endanger the lives of innocent people. But if it's a fight these Nightmares want, it's a fight they'll get."_

_He tried to reach out for his sword, but something beat him to it. He turned his head to see a small dark shadow in front of him holding his sheathed sword in one hand. The others were ready to unsheathe their swords when..._

"_Raar!" The "Shadow" roared in a small child-like tone causing the soldiers, even the General to laugh. _

"_Well, isn't that the scariest Nightmare you've ever seen?" One soldier joked._

"_Come on, Sweetheart. Daddy's busy." The General slowly advanced to the little girl wearing a black cloth over her but the young girl ran around the room, forcing the others to try and catch her (she was still carrying the sword around)._

_The men laughed as each attempted to catch the little girl. She hid beneath the table, but a soldier was already stationed there. Luckily, she got out of the way before he could even get to her. Another one leaped at her from the table but only succeeded in grabbing her black cloth, revealing a young girl with black hair and hazel eyes in a white night gown. She continued to run around, evading every gloved grasp on her way. She suddenly stopped, thinking that she already exhausted every soldier in the room that she did not notice the tall figure in uniform behind her until he grabbed her. _

_The little girl laughed as her father's hands lifted her into his arms. The sight of his little girl's laughter warms his heart as he carefully took his sword away from her._

"_Alright, you had your fun, Little Nightmare." The General teased._

"_I'm not a Nightmare, I'm a soldier." The little girl proudly said._

"_Kid's too young to be a soldier!" A soldier teased and the others laughed._

_"No." The General replied before touching his daughter's nose, "But she is too young to stay way past her bedtime."_

"_But, I'm, not, sleepy." She managed to say before dozing to sleep._

"_That's a good little soldier." The General slowly patted his sleeping little girl's back when a Palomino pony entered the room,"You mind taking her back to her room?" _

_The pony neighed in response as the General carefully laid his daughter on its back. _

"_I love you, Daddy." The little girl murmured in her sleep as the pony galloped out of the room._

"_I love you too. My little Kitty Kat." The General smiled as they finally left._

"_Kat..."_

"_Kat ..."_

* * *

"KAT!"

Kat felt a vibration as soon as she woke up from her daze. She looked around and noticed the worry looks the others were giving her as Jack shook her shoulder just to wake her up.

"Oy, Mate. Go easy on the snowball, huh?" Bunny told Manny.

"I never even threw it _that_ hard. Honest." Manny protested as Jack helped Kat up. However, Kat tripped but Jack caught her in his arms, making the scene awkward for both of them (get the picture?).

Embarassed, (and noticed by the others) the two let go of each other only to let Kat slip and fall on the ground on her back. She quickly got up, only to realize that she squashed a tiny plant. Feeling sorry for the plant, she tried to touch it. Amazingly, an aura surrounded it and it bloomed into a flower.

Surprised by this, Kat touched the flower; once again encasing it in an aura and making it grow. Only this time, it did not just sprout more flowers, it sprouted gigantic flowers!

The plant grew and grew and grew until its branches elongated into the size of logs. Unfortunately, they stretched all corners; surrounding the Guardians and the kids. Bunny was able to avoid one stretching branch, but another branch emerged from it, causing him to trip.

Meanwhile, the children's faces were filled with awe at the sight of blooming giant flowers in front of them (oblivious of any possible dangers that would befall on them). Soon, the other children of Burgess noticed the glowing aura of the plant. Some could not hold onto their curiosity that they had to run towards the light. One particular child dropped down her book and rushed over to the flowers, ignoring the warning barks of her bulldog.

Jamie, Sophie and their friends laughed as they were lifted into the air by the giant branches of the plant. Even the Guardians joined in the fun and rode on the giant, sturdy leaves.

"Aaahh!" Bunny cried as he plummeted to the ground. (Okay... so maybe not all of them are sturdy.)

"Sorry!" Kat apologized.

"This is so cool!" Claude screamed while clutching on a rising branch, passing the Guardians.

"Thanks Kat!" Jamie cried as his branch passed the Guardians.

"You truly have a gift." Manny complimented as Bunny struggled to not fall once again.

"Look!" Jack cried, pointing at a group of children running towards the plant.

The children laughed upon seeing the plant. Their laughs increased as they were lifted from the ground, some climbed to the top. One child tried climbing on a branch with no success until she felt something tugging on her coat. The child laughed as a group of songbirds lifted her into the skies along with a few other children and perched them on the branches of the plant. The children thanked the birds as they left to join the other songbirds who were entertaining Kat with their beautiful melody.

"Oh. My fairies will be jealous." Tooth mused as a songbird nuzzled its head under her chin.

More animals joined in the fray; Some local deers were tugging on North's beard, Bunny was getting undivided attention from a group of rabbits, Sandy was sleeping on a branch along with the nocturnal residents of the forest, and Jack and Manny were playing with a swarm of butterflies.

"My reindeers will be jealous." North laughed while a small deer tugged on his beard.

"Kat will be so jealous." Bunny was encircled by a group of rabbits whom he tried to avoid with no success.

"My stars would be so jealous." Manny said as he perched a butterfly on his finger. Then his smile turned to a frown upon remembering the stars he left at the Moon.

Only Jack seemed to notice the poor guy's sadness as the stars on his suit began to flicker out. The first time he and the other Guardians came face-to-face with the Man in the Moon was in his home in the moon, the Lunar Lair playing with a star. But it was no ordinary star; it was the North Star, Wish, the brightest star in the sky. To the children, Wish was known as the Wishing Star, a star that will grant any wish and make them come true. Jack remembered how sad the little guy was when it was time for him to leave and take his place in the night sky. He sure didn't want to stop playing with his Guardian. The other constellations probably felt the same way when they have to take their places in the night sky. He wonders how they felt now when they found out that their Guardian is gone.

Jack tried to break the ice between him and Manny when a group of children on another branch passes them. One child slips but managed to avoid falling by clutching on a branch. However, as he looked down he began to loosen his grip.

"No, no." Manny carefully walked to the branch where the child was, "Don't look down. Look over here."

"Shiny." The child began to smile at the sight of a man in a starry suit before him that he forgot about the height he was about to plummet down to.

"That's right." Manny motioned the boy to come to him at the same time walking backwards, "Follow the shiny man in the shiny suit."

Trying not to look down, the little boy began to stand up and slowly walk towards Manny. He began to increase his speed that he smiled and jumped into the Man in the Moon's arms.

"Oh, alright." Manny laughed as the child's grip tightened around him.

Jack laughed as Manny let go of the child so that he could join his friends, but not before bidding him a heartfelt good-bye.

"For someone who spent his entire life in the moon, you got a pretty good knack with the kids." Jack commented as he flew towards Manny.

"As a Guardian, it is my duty to guide and protect the children of the world. Plus I learn a lot from spying on you and the other Guardians." Manny replied back as Jack laughed at his statement. That's when a snowball hit Jack on the face.

"Payback, Frosty!" Kat threw a snowball at Manny while sliding down a winding branch.

Jack wasted no time to freeze a winding branch next to the branch Kat was sliding on and began chasing her. It, was, on!

Snowballs flew in every direction as the two spirits fought head-on with snowballs in their hands. However, despite their attempts to hit one another, they just hit innocent bystanders; One snowball hits a kid on his back, another hits a singing songbird and another woke up Sandy from his sleep. Luckily, it didn't bother the Guardian of Dreams because he immediately went back to sleep.

Kat and Jack just kept hurling snowballs at each other while hitting more bystanders and actually evading any obstacles on the way at the same time doing acrobatic feats in the air.

"Hey! Watch this!" Kat touched a row of giant flowers and they immediately changed from pink to orange to yellow in a kaleidoscopic way.

"Nice!" Jack called only to let a snowball pass over his head.

"Lesson no. 1, Frosty: Always keep your eyes on the battlefield." Kat called, hurling another snowball at him and jumping on his branch.

"Hey! Get off my branch!" Jack threw another snowball at Kat. The two kept hurling snowballs at each other(hitting more bystanders).

Now, Kat happens to be in front of Jack and happens to be sliding backward. Meanwhile, Jack was sliding up-front, but since Kat was in front of him, both did not notice a branch blocking their way until both tripped and fell down the snow. Many spectators, even the Guardians ran towards where they fell. Luckily, the two just laughed and fell backwards on the snow.

"You're not bad yourself." Jack commented.

"You too." Kat replied. The two sat up to admire the giant plant Kat made that now turned into a giant playground for the kids (and a sleeping quarter for the animals of the forests, and Sandy), "Time flies by when you're asleep, huh?"

"Yeah." Jack replied while picking one of the smaller flowers. Its base is trumpet-shaped with five white petals pointing outwards and it has a pistil sticking out from the inside of the flower, "Tell me about it. Man, I've never seen a flower like this in these parts."

Kat was too distracted at the happy children who were having fun with the plant. Jack saw this as a chance to slip the flower on Kat's hair just below her right ear. Kat looked at her reflection on a path of frozen ice Jack made and admired what he did. Unbeknownst to the two, they were being spied.

"Ah. Young love." Pippa said as the girls sighed.

"'Young love'" Bunny mocked and threw a snowball on his paw, "This should liven things up."

The jealous Guardian of Hope threw the snowball at the two spirits. Luckily, the snowball passed the two and was heading for...

"_Hibiscus rosa-sinensis._" Maggie took notice of a flower in front of her while taking down some notes in her small notebook. She then took hold of a different flower, "___Digitalis purpurea_.You don't see these growing in the woods."

Suddenly, a snowball struck her back causing her to fall and let go of her notebook. She watched in horror as her notebook was mindlessly kicked around by children skating in the ice and throwing snowballs at each other. Luckily, the notebook was kicked into a secluded area where no one could hurt it any further...until a goat ate it up, much to Maggie's horror.

"Crikey." A nervous Bunny said as Maggie angrily turned around to face the culprit.

"You, you good for nothing freak of nature." Maggie angrily said.

"Whoa, Maggie. It's was just an accident." Jamie tried to defend the Easter Rabbit, "He didn't mean to throw it at you."

"Oh. He didn't mean to throw it at me. He was just trying to have a little fun." Maggie mocked, "Well look what 'fun' the 'Easter Bunny' got me into. Ugh! I knew I wasted my time coming out here only to have my studies disrupted by your useless immature play date."

"Whoa there." Jack came between Jamie and Maggie, "Hey take it easy. It's not a big deal. You can always get another notebook."

"Not a big deal? NOT A BIG DEAL?!" Maggie's face reddened like she was about to explode, "So I guess Jack Frost is not a big deal either."

"Wh-what?" Jack asks in surprise.

"I mean, it snows here every day, people." Maggie continued while kicking on the snow, "Why do we need some guy to control the weather for us? I mean, look at this. Snow, snow, snow! Why don't 'Jack Frost' just fly away and freeze some holiday vacation spot or something? Or better yet, why don't he take his friends the Easter Bunny with him? Oh, and maybe add in the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman, and the Man in the Moon, and Santa Claus! Come on people; There are lot of smart alecks here who are too smart to believe in such things such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and whatever else shenanigans or nonsense this crazy town believes in! Why can't you guys ever grow up?!"

Everyone gasped at Maggie's statement. Even the Guardians were disturbed by this statement. Sandy awoke from his sleep only to be badmouthed by Maggie.

"What a shame." All heads turned toward a pair of eyes in a bush, "I was beginning to have a little fun."

A figure emerged from the bush and Monty gave a blood-shrieking cry.


	8. You've Messed With The Wrong Spirit

The Guardians found themselves face-to-face with the most horrifying creature you ever seen. It was ghastly. It was eerie. It was unbearable. It was…

"The Leprechaun?" Jack asked in disbelief.

Standing before him was a red bearded man, no taller than half his height. He was wearing green pants, black buckled shoes, a green suit and a green top hat topped off with a four-leaf clover on the front. Despite his scaring stance, his appearance didn't make him that intimidating. The Guardians just stared at each other in disbelief before turning their gaze at a frightened Monty.

"We played a trick on him on Halloween and he's been frightened ever since." Jamie explained.

"Well that was mean." The Leprechaun crossed his arms in offense only to be picked up by the hat by Bunny.

"Crikey. Time must've lost his marbles to actually send the little runt after us." Bunny leered suspiciously at the little guy.

"Who are you calling little runt, _Bunny Rabbit_? The Leprechaun balled his fists as if attempting to punch Bunny only to be dropped to the ground.

"For a guy whose name is 'Lucky', he's really not that lucky." Jack stated as Lucky punched the air, oblivious that his hat was pushed down to his eyes.

"That's not even his real name." Manny emphasizes, "He just uses it to sound _lucky_."

"It's actually..." North emphasizes.

"DON'T, say it!" Lucky warned after pulling his hat up.

"Patrick." North whispered, only to be heard by the laughing children. "Patrick" considered this as an insult as shown by the reddening of his face.

"If you must know..." Patrick began after calming down only to be interrupted by numerous laughter, "If you must know... IF you must know... IF YOU MUST KNOW! I came with back-up."

As he said that, simultaneous rustling came from some nearby bushes. Yellow eyes with slit pupils glowed inside the darkness of the bushes and out emerged a clowder of black cats, slowly making their way towards the Guardians and frightened children; some were in a pouncing stance.

"I thought leprechauns were good luck." Jamie said, slightly frightened.

"Not _this_ leprechaun, Mate." Bunny corrected, ready to aim his boomerangs at any attacking black cat.

"You never believed in me!" Lucky/Patrick bellowed at the Guardians, "Everyone took my 'Luck' for granted. Well we'll see how 'lucky' you're all are when you taste my fury!"

_Meow_!

Confused and surprised, Lucky turned his head only to see his black cats happily purring as Kat happily stroke each and every one of them.

"Guys! I said 'fury', not 'friendly'." An annoyed, yet disappointed Lucky scolded, only to be ignored by his disrespecting minions who continued purring on Kat.

"I don't know if you could even taste fury." A goose with a pink bonnet and a blue shawl emerged from a bush, "But _that _is certainly not fury."

" Mother Goose." North eyed the goose suspiciously.

"She doesn't look like a 'mother' to me." Jack stated, aiming his staff at the goose.

"Excusez-moi, monsieur,'' a child-like angel with a french accent in a pink toga, arm with a bow and a quiver of arrows came between Jack and Goose, spooking the others in the process upon making his appearance, "but that is not how you treat a lady."

"Cupid?" A surprised Bunny asks in disbelief, "Oh great. Who else? The groundhog? "

"Hey, hey, hey!" A jester appeared in front of a surprised Bunny, "What am I? Cold turkey?"

"No." Someone gobbled and all eyes turned toward a turkey wearing a pilgrim's hat, "I'm the cold turkey...Er, Turkey here."

"Then he must be the Sour Gourd." The jester playfully pointed to Pumpkin and drum-roll is heard in the background. Pumpkin and the Guardians just stared at him in disbelief.

"Really, you're making us less threatening." He stared to the still grinning jester.

"No kidding." Jack agreed.

"Oh, you think we're not something, ey Laddy?" Lucky wagged a finger at Jack before pointing to the darkening skies, "Well take a look up."

The Guardians did, along with the children and Kat.

"Ha! Nice try, you guys." Jack looked back at the other spirits with humour, "But nothing's… Manny?"

The Man in the Moon stared nervously at the darkening sky while turning his gaze from one corner to another.

"Wh-what time is it?" He asks nervously.

"Almost after noon?" Pippa replied. Manny just widened his eyes in realization as he returned his gaze back to the sky as if searching for something.

"Manny?" Tooth asks in worry.

"T-there's nothing out there." Manny panics, "He, he was suppose to be here…"

"What are you…" Before Jack could finish, his eyes widened before staring back to the empty darkening sky, "Where are they?" The other Guardians' eyes widened in realization.

"Come again?" Goose looked up from checking her feather-tips. Jack just pointed his staff in a threatening manner. The other Guardians glared at the other spirits with fury in their eyes.

"What did Time do?" Jack asks, "Especially to the brightest one in the sky?"

"Oh yes. The sky seems to be a little bare, isn't it?" Goose stared indifferently at the sky, "Pity. It's always nice to lay down in the grass under a starry, starry night. Pitch should've gotten rid of you upstart Guardians when he had the chance. Oh well. His loss is our gain."

"That… That… THAT…." Goose has just reached Manny's boiling point that the Man in the Moon's eyes began glowing supernova red.

"Get it out already, Mate." Bunny urged.

"I, I can't." Manny's eyes regained its twinkly state, "It's, it's too mean and disrespecting." The Guardians groaned in disbelief.

"Come on! The old git was mean, disrespecting, and look what he did to your stars!" Bunny pointed out.

"Bunny!" Manny gasped at the mention of the word "git".

"Way to ruin the mood." Jack disappointingly said.

At that instant, Pumpkin began throwing axes at the Guardians but they managed to dodge them, only to let Jack be shot by an arrow… and pinned to a tree.

"Don't be fooled!" He alarmed, "They're pink and amorously deadly!"

Of course, this only alarmed the children who began screaming and ran to take cover. Manny, alarmed at the sight before him reminisces one of his visions.

"Kat!" He cried, "Take the children to safety. We'll handle these spirits." Kat nodded and began rushing to the other kids. To Lucky's dismay, so did his black cats.

A battle ensues between the Guardians and the spirits; Cupid kept on shooting arrows and Pumkin threw scythes and axes while North slashes them with his swords. Bunny tried throwing his boomerangs at them only to have his head clashed by a pair of cymbals courtesy of the April Fools who, in return, got knocked out by Manny who used his invisibility to sneak up at him. Tooth, Sandy, Jack, and Goose were having an all-out air battle with Goose throwing deadly feathers at an evading Tooth.

They fought and fought until Lucky's threw his weapon at the Guardians only to miss and landed an inch away from a fallen boy.

"Upside-down horseshoe!" The boy screamed upon seeing the weapon. Then a shadow looms over the boy and he looked up.

"Well, hi!" The Thanksgiving Turkey gobbled making the boy scream and run away in fear, "They _can _see us."

"And it's all thanks to her." Goose pointed at Kat who was busy helping a fallen child up. That's when she caught the eyes of a certain Spirit of Valentine.

"She, is the most beautiful creature that ever emerged from this ice cold wasteland." Cupid mused amorously at Kat.

"Hey!" Jack shouted, "She's taken. And I thought you already have Bunny."

"What?" Bunny asks in surprise. Not long ago, Cupid took a liking to Bunny, which is weird because now, the Guardians don't know his gender.

"Oh dear." Cupid _actually_ considered what Jack said, "That's right. Now don't think of this as an insult of our relationship…"

Bunny wanted to protest but Jack nudged him that he has a plan.

"But… I think we should see other people." Cupid continued, suddenly turning his back, "I know you thought this would never happen, but…" Jack hits him with a snowball on his back before he could finish, causing him to fall, face-first on the snow.

Jack and Bunny smirked until they noticed the puzzled and confused looks in Pippa, Cupcake and Sophie's faces.

"Is he a guy, or a girl?" Cupcake asks uncomfortably.

"We don't know." Jack asked in bewilderment.

Meanwhile, Kat was busy helping the other children, when a shadow loomed over her. She slowly looked up to meet the eyes of a grinning pumpkin.

"Hey there, Kiddo." Pumpkin said with a sinister expression on his face, "Remember m…" Before he could finish, Kat kicked him in… well, above the shin and he groaned in pain as he stumbled to the ground.

"Should've seen that coming." He groaned in pain, while allowing Kat to escape.

"Where do you think you're going, Lassie?" Lucky blocked her way before she could go any further.

Luckily, Jack was flying above him, hurling blasts of ice at the little guy who evaded it with ease (due to his short stature.

"Ha!" Lucky laughed as Jack stopped blasting, only to be hit on the head by Kat, "Aaah..."

"Thanks guys." Kat returned the bat she used to hit Lucky to the twins.

The other Guardians were still busy fighting of the other spirits; Mother Goose was still hurling feathers at Tooth, and Turkey was trying to stab Bunny with a pitchfork, with no avail, so he used it to trip him.

"So much for 'Lucky rabbit feet'." Turkey gobbled while pointing the tip of his pitchfork at Bunny. Suddenly, a snowball is thrown at his face. Bunny took this as an opportunity to kick him far away as possible while he wiped the snow off his face.

"Thanks, Mate." He said to Jamie.

"That was my sister." Jamie gestured to a proud Sophie who was tossing a snowball in her hand then stuck her tongue out at Turkey.

Bunny began throwing his boomerangs at Goose but she was just too fast to be hit. She then flew fast towards Bunny. Luckily, he ducked but Goose managed to grab Kat.

"Never let a man to do a Goose's job." Goose stated as Kat squirmed to get out of her grasp.

"Let her go!" Jack pointed his staff at Goose.

"Make me." Goose laughed.

Suddenly, something shot out of the sky. The last thing Goose saw before she was kicked to the ground was a blur of 9 antlers and a white mane. Kat screamed as she fell from the sky only to be caught by her faithful steed.

"Natura!" Kat cried in glee upon riding her favourite Palomino. Natura neighed before landing next to North's reindeers. The children came out of their hiding places and cheered at the Guardians for their victory.

"It's not over yet." Goose stated and began to honk. At that instant, a convocation of eagles came flying out of the sky and towards the Guardians.

At the same time, The April Fool clanged his cymbals together and a group of tiny clowns came tumbling out of the bushes and came tumbling straight at the Guardians. The other spirits followed and soon the Guardians were surrounded by eagles, tiny clowns, miniature cherubs, giant four-leaf clovers, bats, and… living squashes?

Okay. Eagles and bats are not to be dealt with in groups, and the tiny clowns, cherubs and giant clovers look menacing, but _living squashes the size of regular squashes_?

Alas, their doubts did not last for stomping feet can be heard in the vibrating snow… and shaking trees. Suddenly, towering scarecrows emerged from the forests and were heading straight for the Guardians!

"Anyone want to take on the little squashes?" A frightened Bunny asks and the other Guardians agreed.

Suddenly, one of the scarecrows pounded his long arm on the ground. The Guardians would have been pulverized if it weren't for the helping hooves of certain reindeers. With their masters' commands, the eagles, tiny clowns, miniature cherubs, giant four-leaf clovers, bats, and living squashes began attacking the Guardians; Sandy was whipping the eagles, Jack was throwing snowballs at the playful little clowns while at the same time blasting them with ice, Tooth was evading the love arrows (only to have Monty shot and fall in love with… you'll know later) and knocking down any cherub she could get her fists and wings on, Bunny was throwing his boomerangs and egg bombs at a giant four-leaf clover and it tripped on its back, causing the other giant clovers behind him to fall on each other in a domino-like manner, North was swinging his swords at the bats and Manny just stared at the little squashes as they try to "punch" him on the legs, until he had to dodge the pounding fists of the towering scarecrows and blind them with his star shurikens, allowing him to kick them to the ground.

Meanwhile, Kat ran to the others to help them but was stopped by the other spirits.

"Ah, ah, ah." Goose wagged her feather at Kat. Soon, the spirits were losing in on her as she backed away, "You're not going anywhere." That's when Jamie and his friends came between them, preventing the Spirits to come any further.

"Hi!" An love entranced Monty waved at Cupid. Cupid waved back, creeping-out the others as they stepped away from him.

"Leave her alone!" Jamie snapped at the Spirits.

"And who's going to stop us?" Goose cackled, "You?" That's when a clowder of black cats came in front of the kids in a threatening stance.

"Guys, how could you?" An offended and saddened Lucky asks. The cats only hissed at the other Spirits.

"Why are you doing this?" Jamie asks and pointed from Lucky to Goose to the April Fool to Turkey to Cupid to Pumpkin, "I thought, I thought you were suppose to spread luck wherever you go, I thought you were motherly and a good storyteller, I thought your tricks brought cheers and laughter, I thought you bring families together, uh... I thought you were loving, and I thought you bring joy to people through costumes and candies. Weren't you guys, them?"

This struck and surprise the other Spirits, confusing them, making them wonder if what they are doing is wrong... or is it?

"Those," Goose's expression changed from confused to dark, "were the lives we never wanted to be!" She unsheathes her feathers and strikes it straight at the kids!

_Slash!_

Kat opened her eyes to see a large shadow in front of her and the children, the wind blowing a fluff of white mane. A weak neigh is heard before a Palomino pony stumbled onto the ground.

"NATURA!" Kat rushed toward her faithful steed, a bunch of feather-like blades sticking out of her coat. The pony neighed weakly upon seeing its rider. The other Spirits' eyes widened; Natura actually risked her life to save the children.

Jack heard Kat's cry and stopped fighting. The others followed and turned their heads towards the unfortunate event that has befallen on their fellow animal companion. Kat cried for her pony. That's when Natura began to glow. Kat's eyes widened in horror as she realized that her pony is fading away!

"No. Natura, don't leave me. Don't…" Before she could finish, Natura faded entirely into small specks of light, "go."

The Guardians, the children and even the animals bowed their heads in respect for the departed. Rudolph cried upon losing the mare of his dreams at the same time being comforted by his fellow reindeers.

Kat kept bowing her head in misery before lifting it up and slowly turned to face the Spirits. Once she opened her eyes, Jack was surprise at the thought that they were glowing fierce golden in the dark sky, but in truth they were actually golden… just like the eyes of someone else he knows. That's when he noticed that the other Spirits were surrounded by the animals of the forest, North's reindeers and even Lucky's cats, and they were all growling at them with a glint of anger in their eyes.

"You guys messed with the wrong spirit." Kat said with a tone of anger. That's when the animals began charging at the Spirits.

The next time you see a fuzzy little animal, DO NOT APPROACH WITHOUT MAKING IT ANGRY! The Spirits learned this the hard way when the animals began attacking them one-by-one or even in groups. Their minions tried to help them but they were overpowered by North's reindeers, Lucky's black cats (poor Lucky) and even some of the woodland creatures. The Guardians couldn't do anything but watch as the animals brutally attack, pounce, injure and mostly bite the Spirits and their minions. Soon, the Spirits were so badly beaten-up that they barely had the strength to fight back. The last thing they needed was the entire herd of animals coming right for them in an attacking stance!

The group shielded their eyes and prepared for the worst until…

* * *

Goose opened her eyes, only to realize that they are back in the Lunar Lair.

"I knew you wouldn't last that long, but I also didn't expect you to be overpowered by a bunch of mangy beasts." Time remarked from the throne, and he sounded disappointed.

"We," A nervous Goose stuttered, "we didn't…" Time slammed the end of his staff of the floor, making the Spirits and their minions shudder.

* * *

Back at Burgess, the Guardians, the animals and the children were perplexed by the sudden disappearance of the Spirits. Kat was still in her rage until she met Jack's worry gaze. She calmed down for a bit before falling onto her knees.

* * *

"Honestly, you're tugging my beard." Time faced the stained glass window of him and Mother Nature, "But if that's how you want to play the game…" Time got off the throne and began walking towards a corridor. Curious and frightened at the same time, the Spirits followed along with their minions.

"If you were going to zap us back, you should've zapped my cats back as well." Lucky complained.

"Oh please." Time smirked, "Black cats are bad luck. Besides, do you really want those fur balls back after dumping you for a Lassie?"

These words struck Lucky, confusing him. The moment was disturbed by a chorus of clangs and animal sounds. That's when an owl flew in front of an angry Time.

"I thought I told you to SHUT THEM UP!" Time snapped at the owl. The owl nodded and flew away.

* * *

The Spirits walked until they came before a room with a giant globe filled with lights.

"Oh well." Time sighed and pointed the tip of his staff on a section of the globe labelled "Burgess". The staff glowed and the arms of the clock ornament rotated counter-clockwise, "I could always use the extra helping hands, and hooves."

A moment later, shadows loomed all over the room. Frightened, the Spirits held onto each other as a shadow appeared behind Time who remained calm as it took the form of a man.

* * *

**AN:**

**Okay! That's all I got so far for this chapter, but it's gonna be so good. Anyway my fellow FanFiction writers, I need your help. If any of you guys know this song or even title or full lyrics of this song, please let me know. I heard it before in Disney Channel and I just love the tune. Thanks:**

**Dream, dream, dream.**

**If you can dreeeam!**

**There was something in the dream that was surely sure.**

'**til one day it will keep my heart secure.**

**There's nothing like a dream in the corner.**

**(so keep loving life)**

**Dream high as one**

**And from the very start**

**If you can dream,**

**Feel like the wind.**

**Happiness flows.**

**Just follow your dream wherever it goes**

**Feeling so free like the wind**

**See you, see me.**

**If you can dream!**


	9. Daddy's Here

The night was silent. It was dark. No light was present except for the circle of tiny stars floating near a plant surrounded by sad faces.

The floating stars soon gathered and took the form of a pony. Each of the sad faces held onto tiny identical floating stars. Slowly but sadly, they let go of the stars, thus joining them with the other stars who were surrounding the giant plant. The light from the stars illuminated the plant which was shaped into a pony. Kat cried at the loss of her beloved pet and companion, yet deep inside she was proud that she fought valiantly. The stars soon gathered together before dispersing in a rain of light. One star floated towards Manny as the others gathered in a circle.

"Take these children home safely." He told the star. The star bobbed up and down before returning to the others.

The Guardians and Kat turned towards the sound of a deer's huff. North's reindeers were already strapped to his sleigh and Rudolph was motioning them to climb aboard, which they accepted. As the group headed for the sleigh, they met the sad gazes of the children. Jack notices Manny sadly looking at the child that he helped earlier. He had that worry look in his eyes as if wondering where they are going and when will they return, or _if_.

As the Guardians and Kat mounted on the sleigh, Kat notices Lucky's black cats. Ever since she awoke from her slumber, Kat has always has an attraction to animals as they are to her, yet she feels that their master misses them as much as they miss him. Her thought were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Jack appearing beside her.

"Hey! Do you think you can lead us to the Lunar Lair?" He asks the cats who meowed in response.

"Don't worry." Kat assured, "Cats can see in the dark better than spirits." Jack just gave his signature smile and summons a wind to lift the cats off the ground.

"To the Lunar Lair." North tossed a snow globe in the air and it smashed, revealing a portal. The reindeers reared and drove the sleigh inside the portal. The cats followed. As soon as they entered, the portal disappeared in front of the children.

The children left with the stars guiding their way home, all but one child. Jamie stood there, worried for the Guardians' safety. Of course, not long ago, he and his friends witnessed the battle between the Guardians and Pitch. They even took part in the battle and helped the Guardians rid of the Nightmare King once and for all. Still, Jamie couldn't help but worry that his Guardians might not return, yet he has faith that they will. He turned his gaze towards the pony-shaped plant Kat created.

"Thank you." Jamie said, thankful to the mare who saved his life, "A-and please? Bring them back safely." He and his star began to leave, unaware that the plant's eyes began to glow.

* * *

In the darkness of space, a portal appeared releasing flying cats and a reindeer-driven sleigh. Led by the cats, the reindeers flew towards the Moon, landing near a glowing castle that is the source of the Moon's light: The Lunar Lair.

"No more hiding." Jack said with a look of determination on his face. He and the Guardians have been evading Time's tricks and hiding from the Spirit of Time for too long. Now it was _time_ for payback.

As the group got out of the sleigh, Jack notices the sad expression on Kat's face and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Ever since she has woke up from her deep slumber, the poor girl has been hunted down by crazy spirits and ends up losing her most trusted companion and best friend in the process.

"I'm sorry." Jack said, "W-we should never have dragged you into this, and now Natura…"

Kat just remained silent, only to make Jack's guilt even worst.

"I wonder if there was a reason why I was stuck in that cave in the first place." Kat finally said, "Ever since I woke up I've been nothing but trouble."

"Kat!" Tooth flew over to the poor girl.

"Pumpkin and the others were after me." Kat went on, "And I let you guys fight them instead of me. And Natura… you should've seen how she put up a fight."

"We did." North puts a hand on her shoulder.

"And we have never been even more proud." Manny added.

The silence was soon interrupted by a muffling sound coming from the sleigh. The Guardians got into battle mode, ready for anything that was about to come from the sleigh. Suddenly, a figure got out from the front of the sleigh, the figure of…

"Maggie?" Jack asked in surprise upon seeing the resident bookworm and no-nonsense director of Burgess, "What are you doing here?"

"Well don't look at me." Maggie panicked as she got out of the sleigh, "That creepy short man came out of nowhere along with those freaks of nature and scared the daylights out of me! You don't know how long it to me to find a hiding place just to get away from those…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it right there, Sheila." Bunny interrupted, "Let us get this straight; this whole time, while everyone else was working their butts off, you were screaming like the cowardly little girl you are and hid under a dusty old sleigh,"

"Hey!" North protested.

"All because of a bunch of ungrateful complaining spirits, who were threatening the whole neighborhood and you didn't even gave a single thought of helping anyone but yourself?" Bunny finished.

"I was scared out of my wits." Maggie mouthed back, "What did you expect me to do; risk my life and get killed by those creeps."

As much as Jack wanted to agree with Bunny, his gaze was mostly at Manny who was worryingly staring at the dark sky.

"Guys." Jack got the others' attention before Bunny could respond.

"Just as I feared." Manny's worst fears came true; Time has taken his stars! The Guardian of Guidance turned his head towards the Lunar Lair where light was still present even in the midst of darkness, "Let's go." With a look of determination on his face, he headed for his home. The others followed, except…

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Maggie protested, "There is no way I'm going too…" But a sinister hooting sound made her think otherwise and rushed to the others. She didn't even took the time to notice a silver owl glaring at the group before flying away, not noticing a small figure emerging from the sled and then heading for the group.

* * *

The doors of the Lunar Lair opened, greeting the Guardians, Kat, Maggie, and the animals with awe as they gaze upon the star studded , crystal-like inside of the castle.

"I gotta admit, Mate; You make my warren and North's workshop look like ancient historic remnants." Bunny complimented much to North's protest.

"Incredible." Maggie examined the crystal-like structure of the castle, "It's like a million crystals melted together and merged to create a silicon-based structure."

"Oh, it's more complicated than that." Manny replied, keeping wary and scanning the inside for Time and the other Spirits. His expression turned grim as the group advanced at a throne in the middle of the room, "This is where she use to tutor me when I was just a youthful spirit."

The Guardians stared in awe at a mosaic stained-glass window depicting a man and a woman surrounding the Earth, but their gaze was mostly at the woman. She had brown flowing hair that seems to be covered in an array of leaves, flowers, clouds, streams, birds, fishes and other animals.

"Mother Nature." Jack said.

"I thought she was just an expression, a myth." Maggie stated skeptically.

"She was never a myth." North sternly said.

"The First Guardian." Bunny said.

"She lived true to her name." Manny emphasized, "A mother to all, she loved us with all her heart. She was kind, good-nature, accepting, forgiving, something Time was not. In the end, he couldn't hold the feeling of being unappreciated any longer. He was neglected for too long, his power never regarded, never respected, never loved, but what he never understood of all was the feeling of acceptance, the feeling of accepting who you are, and not trying to be something you're not."

That last line seemed to bother Maggie because after that, she just stared at the ground, saddened.

" Because of that," Manny went on, "he took no mercy and did everything to destroy all life. It caused Nature's life. Since then, I have taken her place, ruled over the Constellations and lived her legacy; to protect all of Creation, all life, all of her children, but I could never do it alone." He turned to face the Guardians, "As the years passed, more life began to appear, and more humans began to waver. Their spirits began to waver. Soon, they began to question their existence in this world. But in the midst of an empty void, there is always a spark of light to shine the way."

"Huh?" Jack asks in confusion.

"He meant us." North explained.

"Each one of you holds a special place in the hearts of children." Manny continued, "Wonder, Hope, Dreams, Memories, and even Fun."

"Not to mention Guidance." Jack added.

"That too." Manny agreed, "In the darkest of times, there's always a spark of light to guide the way. Come, we best be on our way."

The group followed Manny's lead until the mosaic stained-glass window caught Kat's eyes. She stood in place as images fluttered in her mind.

* * *

_A beautiful garden…_

_A young girl with white hair running and laughing…_

_The laughter echoes…_

_Two hands holding one another…_

_The laughter stops…_

_Two beings, fighting each other…_

_A black cloud…_

_A man, struggling…_

_A collapsing cave…_

* * *

"Kat!"

Kat snapped back to reality after hearing Jack's voice.

"Come on. We got some Spirits' butt to kick." Jack motioned. Kat took one last look at the mosaic before rushing to the others, unaware of a black cloud right behind them.

* * *

Manny led the group to a corridor. The farther they went, the darker it became.

"I thought the Lunar Lair would always shine even in the inside." Tooth began to hug herself out of fear.

"It does." Manny said, "Something's up." That's when the group passed a door.

Thinking that she's the only one who noticed it, Maggie slowly opened the door out of curiosity.

"Oi!" Bunny appeared behind Maggie who jumped in surprise, "What do you think you're doing?"

Before Maggie could answer, Manny appeared in front of the two, scowling. That's when his scowl turned into an amused smile as he opened the door which led to a large room full of paintings.

"невероятный." North exclaimed as the group gazed upon portraits of peoples and places and animals and races. Somehow, most of them are paintings of children.

"A fine stroke of a painter's hand," Maggie said halfheartedly (not impressed), "not much of an apple to the eye, but…" She stopped upon seeing a painting of a happy little girl with eyeglasses being licked by a Bulldog puppy adorned with a pink bow on his neck. By the cone-shaped hat she was wearing and the balloons and streamers scattered in the background, it looked like she was celebrating her birthday. Something about the little girl seemed familiar to Maggie, as if she was looking at a mirror.

"It's one of those moments in a child's life that always warms my heart." Manny appeared behind Maggie as he admire the portrait of her as a little girl, "A joyful and hopeful young girl, receiving the one birthday present she has always wanted; the puppy she dreamed off, whom she will love for and take care for the rest of her life."

This made Maggie smile a bit until she ran a finger on one of her eyes.

"Aw, Maggie." Tooth said upon seeing the poor girl about to cry.

"What?" Maggie quickly wiped her eyes, "It's just some sand in my eyes. Not bad for a Star-studded Freak." Sandy's eyes widened upon hearing the remark. Jack just chuckled before turning his gaze back at the paintings. The first time he ever saw Manny paint was during the time he and the Guardians went to the Lunar Lair in order to help the mysterious baby they found (that's when the baby turned into Time). He often wonder if painting these children make Manny wonder what's he's missing in the outside world. Who knows how many millennium he has stayed in the Lair just to watch the Guardians bring joy and happiness to the Children of the World?

"Must be nice to go out for a change, huh?" Jack asked.

"I guess so." Manny's expression brightened (Literally brightened that Sandy had to wear "sand-glasses").

Meanwhile, Kat was admiring Manny's other paintings when she happen to cross some portraits of some very familiar Guardians.

"Hey Guys, check this out!" Kat called. The others rushed to her side only to gaze open-mouthed at the sight of five individual portraits of the Guardians minus Manny.

"Oh Manny…" Tooth sighed.

"I think you added a few fur in me, Mate, but… Not bad." Bunny said.

"Speak for yourself." North protested, "I don't remember gaining that much after eating a few milk and cookies."

"I see you didn't leave any details behind." Jack admired his portrait until he frowned upon turning his gaze at another painting, "But I wish you could leave _that_ detail behind."

The group turned their gaze at the other painting. Their expression immediately turned to shock upon seeing the picture of a tall, lithe man with pale grey skin covered in a black robe. His eyes were eerie golden. On both sides of the man where two black horses, both with the same coloured eyes like the man. The sinister, dark expression on the man's face was enough to send chills down the Guardians' spines; even Baby Tooth had to hide behind Lucky's frightened cats upon seeing the sight of their past enemy. Manny just sighed upon the sight of his artwork.

"Yes." He spoke, " I have to admit; there comes a time when I come across something that caught my attention that I couldn't help but paint. Oh Pitch, if only you knew what you were going through." Kat, who was entranced by the portrait of the Boogieman, quickly turned her head in surprise, as if the name sounded familiar to her.

"If you ask me, nothing good ever comes out of that Bugger." Bunny said.

"Except Nightmares." Jack added, "Lots, and lots of Nightmares." This rose Kat's curiosity even more before a bothered expression appeared in her face.

"Come." Manny headed for the door, "We should be on our way." The others followed his lead, except Kat who continued to stare at the painting in daze.

As soon as the group got out, a dash of silver appeared out of nowhere and sends Manny sprawled to the ground, wrestling a silver owl. The others rushed over to help but where stopped by more silver owls. One of the owls strikes at the Guardians…

* * *

Meanwhile, Kat was still entranced by the image of the Boogieman. Her eyes widened as images began fluttering back into her mind…

* * *

"_Do you really have to go?" A voice of a young girl asked a man in uniform. The man bent down towards the little girl._

"_I'm sorry, Sweetheart," The man gave an assuring smile, "but Daddy has to work in order to prevent the Nightmares from hurting everyone, especially his little girl." He playfully ruffles his daughter's hair, causing her to laugh._

"_Sir, it's time to go." A soldier called. The man got up but the little girl tugged on his sleeves before he could go any further._

"_Promise you'll come back?" The girl pleaded._

"_Of course, Kat." The man smiled._

* * *

"_Daddy!"_

_The General's eyes widened in horror upon seeing his daughter at the edge of a cliff. In front of her was a black cloud advancing further at her._

"_Daddy! I'm scared." The girl cried._

"_It's alright." The General assured, "Everything is going to be alright. Just don't be nervous. They can smell fear." This didn't help for the black cloud advanced further at the even more frightened girl._

"_Jump!" The General cried. The girl looked back before jumping down into her fathers' arms before the cloud could snatch her away. _

_The General ran as the cloud began to pursue him and the child. He was able to hide behind a tree, thereby allowing the cloud to pass him and the child. _

"_Why didn't you stay put like I told you so?" The General scolded his daughter._

"_I just wanted to see you again." The girl sad-eyed her father. _

_Touched, the General hugged his daughter, until he felt the cold blow of an ill wind. The black cloud appeared out of nowhere...and was headed for the General! The General tossed his daughter aside before unsheathing his sword to face the cloud... only to drop the sword in the process. The little girl stirred only to become widen-eyed at the sight of her father being engulfed by the cloud._

"_Daddy!" The girl rushed to his aid only to be swiped away into a mouth of a cave. The last thing she saw was her father struggling before the cave crumbled before her._

"_DADDY!" _

* * *

Kat snapped back into reality after encountering another dream... only, it was not just a dream. She began to breathe heavily upon finally realizing the truth, not noticing a bony grey hand reaching out from behind her until she felt a familiar ruffle on her head, a feeling she has not felt since that day in the field of butterflies...

"I didn't realize it would end that way." A man's sad accented voice said, "I didn't mean for it to happen. I only wanted to protect you."

The man quickly backed away before being hit by a giant plant an angry Kat conjured from the ground.

"You, left, me, there, TO DIE!" Kat continued to angrily strike the dark figure with multiple giant plants which he completely invaded.

All these times, all those flashbacks, and all those challenges she has been put up to. She has suffered enough to know that _this man_ would have the nerve to show his face to her after all these years.

"I couldn't save you even when I wanted to!" The man shouted, "I know what it's like to be trapped all these years only to wake up in a new world, in a new life only to realize that time has passed without you in it!"

Angered by what she heard, Kat shot a long stem from the ground which wrapped itself around the man's leg, causing him to trip and fall on the floor before being thrown back and forth and thrown against a wall. Enraged, Kat charged at the man... and tearfully hugged him in the process.

"Ssh. There, there." The shadowed being, the same dark being the Guardians have defeated a year ago, embraced the crying girl before giving her a kiss on her forehead, "Daddy's here."


	10. Betrayal

The scraping razor sharp talons of a bird of prey scratches the crystal interior of the Lunar Lair as human-sized silver owls fought against the Guardians. The battle became intense; Jack blasting a wave of ice, Bunny throwing boomerangs, North slashing his swords, Tooth encasing the owls in a make-shift tornado, Manny throwing star-shurikens and Sandy… well, snapping his fingers at a nearby owl and putting him to sleep. In the midst of the battlefield, no one seems to notice the absence of a certain Spirit.

* * *

Unaware of the dangers yet to follow, Kat laid crying on the floor, at the same time hugging her long-lost father, and the enemy of the Guardians.

"Oh my poor little Kitty Kat," The Boogieman said as he cupped his daughter's face into his hands so that their golden eyes can meet, "I know what it's like to be alone and confused all these times, even at the point when you realized the truth."

Kat's eyes widened upon realization; How would her friends react when they found out that the Boogieman, the Master of all Nightmares and their old enemy, is actually her father? And, and if they do find out…

* * *

Meanwhile, the others were still busy fighting the owls. One owl managed to pin Manny down. Thinking quickly, Maggie grabbed one of Lucky's cats and hurled it at the owl's face. The cat's threatening hiss caused the owl to fly away along with his fellow owls.

"Well that was unexpected." Manny stated as Jack looked around as if something, or someone, was missing.

"Where's Kat?" He asked in worry.

* * *

"They'll soon find out," Pitch continued as if reading his daughter's mind, "and you know how they feel about those who ever do any harm to the children."

And she does. She remembered how the others fought the other Spirits and in order to save the children. She herself even felt the pain of losing her best friend to those…monsters. But what she did in Burgess, what she just did in the Lunar Lair, the animals, the plants, the frightened expressions on the Guardians' and the children' faces…

"They'll never accept those who are born in the dark," Pitch continued, "but you're nothing like us, Sweetheart. I know that, but do they?"

"But, they're my friends, right?" Kat said, "After all we've been through, they just can't…"

"Oh they won't." Pitch interrupted, "But that depends on some circumstances, but it also depends on you, my Dear. Don't you forget who you really are, and where you truly belong. You will always be my little Kitty Kat."

Kat cried and hugged her father. Pitch just smiled before ruffling her hair and once again, gently kissing her on the forehead.

"Kat!"

Kat opened her eyes upon hearing Jack's voice only to realize that her father was gone. By the time the others reached her, they found her kneeling on the floor in front of a cracked portion of the wall.

"Oh Kat!" A worried Tooth flew towards her, "Are you alright?"

Before she could answer, Jack plucked something out of Kat's hair and twirled a feather in his hand, a long silver feather.

"Whew! And we thought you'd become owl food by now." Jack said in relief before staring at the wall Kat made while fighting Pitch, "Guess you showed them, huh?"

"Uh…Yeah." Kat sounded convincing, knowing the fact that her father planted them there. But why? She dismissed the thought as she and the group began to leave, unaware of the dark figure hiding behind the paintings.

"Oh, she'll be showing alright." Pitch flashed an evil grin.

* * *

Meanwhile, the group was back in the hallway, on their way to face Time and his team of rebelling spirits.

"So, uh, sorry we left you behind." Jack apologized to a nervous Kat.

"What?" A surprised Kat asked.

"But I guess you showed those owls whose boss, huh?" Jack said.

"Oh. Right. Guess I did." Kat fibbed, knowing that the only thing, or person, she has _faced_ was her father, The Boogieman.

"You weren't bad yourself, Sheila." Bunny gestured to Maggie.

"Yeah, I guess so." Maggie replied, keeping her eye on where they were going.

"Oh admit it;" Jack teased, "You haven't had this much fun since you moved into Burgess and got yourself in a war between spirits and, spirits."

"Oh alright!" Maggie admitted, "I haven't had this much fun in years!" Suddenly, her excited face began to fade, " Still, I should be worried. I mean, how would Dad feel if something happened to me in this crazy adventure? I got a life waiting for me back home."

"Does it always have to be your responsibility to miss on all the fun things just to make your parents proud?" Jack asked.

"Yes!" Maggie quickly replied, "Sure I got brothers and sisters out there, but..."

"Sh!" Manny silenced her upon hearing a clanging sound, "You hear that?"

The clanging sound grew louder as the group opened a door filled with descending stairs. They followed the path and became wide-eyed upon reaching the end of the stair; a room filled with cages... filled with Manny's constellations!

Some of the constellations reared upon seeing their owner and the Guardians as if begging for help. Some even clutched the bars of where they are being held. In the midst of the sounds, Manny could hear a familiar twinkling sound.

"Wish!"Manny rushed to his Star's aid as the others tried to release the Constellations from their cages.

"Is it really important?" A nervous Kat, who has listened to the conversation, asked Maggie, "I mean, you don't have to do everything your parents tell you, do you?"

"Of course it is!" Maggie replied, "After all what your parents gave to you, you have to give back. Every child should respect their parents no matter what and do everything it takes just to make them proud."

"Everything?" Kat's expression saddened upon hearing this, "Even a chance to go out there and make friends?"

"Well..."Maggie stopped abruptly. For a moment, she felt as if she shouldn't have said that.

"T-that's, all I need to know." The sadness in Kat's voice deepened as the twinkling sound grew louder.

"Wish!" Manny cried upon seeing his favourite star. The only problem was that he was in the hands of an old enemy.

"Pitch!" Jack pointed his staff at the Boogieman.

"Jack! North! Tooth! Bunny! Sandy! Manny!" Pitch greeted with a smile, "What a surprise seeing you here."

"This is my home, Pitch." Manny glared at him in response.

"Really?" Pitch asked in surprise, still clutching onto Wish, "I forgot to bring a house-warming gift. Oh wait; I did."

Out of nowhere, black sand surrounded the Group and took the form of black horses. The Group took their battle positions as they prepared to face the Nightmares together. Despite the group's determination, Kat just sadly stared blankly at the ground when her eye began to glow.

Three of the Nightmares began to rear, causing Sandy to whip at them. But before the whips could strike the Nightmares, it dissolved back into sand, much to Sandy's surprise and confusion and to Pitch's amusement. Jack tried blasting a wave of ice at the nightmares, only to have little effect at the advancing Nightmares, thereby causing them to charge at him, push him and lock him inside a cage. A heated fight erupted between the rest of the group and the Nightmares, but despite the Guardians' efforts, they were being taken down one-by-one;

Tooth flew above the rest. She dove at one Nightmare, ready to slice it into dust, when another Nightmare grabbed her by the wing with its mouth and tossed her inside a separate cage. North slashed one of his swords at a Nightmare, but it vanished at the last second, causing North to get his sword stuck on the wall. Surprisingly, despite his effort, no matter how much he pulled, the sword remained stuck to the wall even after he was pulled away by a Nightmare and tossed inside another separate cage. Two Nightmares were chasing Bunny until he threw his boomerangs at them. Alas, the boomerangs had no effect on the Nightmares, much to the Pooka's surprise before a Nightmare dragged him by the tail and tossed him inside another cage. Manny witnessed his friends' capture and is reminded of the vision he had only to snap out of it after Sandy was also tossed inside a cage.

"Really, old friend," Pitch laughed upon advancing to Manny, "is this how _you_ were chosen? I say Nature was getting too old for her age to choose any successors to do her, dead-end job."

Angered, Manny threw a star-shuriken at Pitch who quickly dissolved in sand before regaining his normal form and slash Manny with his scythe. The others watched as the two spirits clashed. Pitch kept slashing Manny who produced a shield to protect himself. But the more Pitch slashed the more the shield began to weaken. Finally, the shield broke apart. Pitch was about to dealt the final blow on Manny when he suddenly disappeared. Confused but wary, Pitch stood guard just in case he appeared again. From his cage, Jack flashed his signature smile, knowing what's about to happen next.

Surely enough, Manny manifested behind Pitch, ready to throw his shurikens at him.

"By God, Nature forgive me." He whispered to himself before throwing his shuriken at Pitch.

A flash of light exploded behind Pitch, just like how Manny's other shurikens react when they struck a surface. However, _this_ shuriken exploded _before _it could strike Pitch's back, much to the Guardians' surprise. Manny just stood in place, shocked, until two of Pitch's Nightmares tackled him into a cage. Wish, who was held by one of Pitch's Nightmare, didn't hesitate to join his master in the cage and gave him a big (small) hug. Amused, Pitch called off his weapon and began advancing towards a saddened Kat but was stopped by Maggie and some angered animals.

"Boo!" Pitch simply said which made the animals run and lock themselves in a cage, leaving Maggie all alone to face the Boogieman… until she wimped-out and locked herself in another cage. Amused by this, Pitch continued advancing towards Kat.

"Pitch!" Jack cried from his cage, "If you hurt her, I swear I'll…"

"Now why would I want to hurt my little Kitty Kat?" Pitch interrupted as he covered Kat's body, minus her head, with his robe and hug her in a comforting manner.

"'Kitty Kat'?" Bunny asked in surprise.

"Does that mean…" A surprised North stopped abruptly as Kat raised her sorry head for a moment.

"He's my dad." She replied.

All eyes widened upon the revelation, especially Jack's. He just could've believe that his friend, his most trusted friend, the girl who had doubts about herself and of her existence, the very same girl whom he had races with on animals and in the snowy domain of his home, was actually the daughter of his now revived enemy. The look on Jack's makes him want to scream when…

"Nooooo!" All eyes turned to a dismayed Bunny as he clutched the bars of his cage, "its worst than I thought!"

Pitch just looked at him blankly before pronouncing, "You should see other spirits." He turned around and began to walk away.

"Kat, wait!" Jack called from his cell, "Okay, sure Pitch is your Dad, but you can't…"

"You guys said that 'nothing good ever comes out of that Bugger'". Whatever that means." Kat cried on her father's robe.

"When did we…" Bunny was about to protest when realization dwelt upon his face.

"He never meant it that way, Kat." Manny defended, "And… well…"

"Aw Kat. No." A saddened North said.

"This can't be happening." Jack added.

"Oh please Jack." Pitch turned around to face the Guardians, "Don't you see the family resemblance?"

Angered, Manny tried blasting the bars of his cage with his powers only to have it deflected back to him. Manny lay injured on the bars of his cage until Wish flew to comfort him. That's when an elderly laughter echoed in the room and an old man covered in a grey robe and holding a clock-adorned staff appeared in the room along with a group of creatures.

"Time." Manny bitterly glared at the old man.

A silver owl landed on Time's shoulder causing one of Lucky's cats to hiss at it. Instead of flying away like last time, the owl gave out such a frightening hoot that all the cats panicked in their cage, much to the Guardians' surprise.

"Oh please. Did you really think my little pets would be terrified by a litter of kittens?" Time asked, "Such prideful knowledge, just what the doctor ordered. Honestly; What was my sister thinking? Entrusting her Guardian duties to her amateur apprentice, who, in return entrusted his duties to bunch of rowdy primitive-state spirits."

"Who are you calling 'rowdy'?" Jack protested, only to get a glare from Bunny, "What?"

"I'd love to stick around and chat 'Guardians', but I have a 'duty' to fulfill." Time laughed before turning to Kat, "And so glad to have your acquaintance, my Dear."

A saddened Kat looked at Jack with a sorry look in her eyes before turning back to Time, "The pleasure's all mine."

"Wonderful." Time clapped his hands in delight as he began to take his leave, "Now we best be on our way. After all, midnight is where all the magic happens." With that, the group began to leave. Kat took one last sad glance at the Guardians before taking the hand of her father.

"Kat!" Maggie called from her cage, "You can't…"

"Anything for your parents, right?" Kat reminded as she sadly stared at the flower she picked from her hair then dropped it on the floor before leaving with her father. Manny hung his head in defeat upon encountering another fragment of his visions.


	11. I'm Sorry

Kat felt silent in the midst of rebelling spirits seeking to rule the world. She just couldn't believe that she left them, betrayed them for her father, their enemy. Somehow she knew her heart was in the wrong place, as if she just entered a dark never-ending void, a black hole of no return, a barren abyss of…

"Why so sad, Mon Ami?" An amorous Cupid interrupted her thoughts, "Oh that face! So much sadness, so much guilt. The thought of betrayal! Oh that has to be the most…"

"Irritating pain in the neck." Kat interrupted before he could continue.

"Exactly. Oh the torture…" Cupid went on.

"I was talking about you." Kat glared at Cupid as she touched the side of a Nightmare. Her hand somehow emitted an orange glow which surprised everyone, even Time.

For a second, the Nightmare reared before advancing angrily at a frightened Cupid. Cupid backed away at every step the Nightmare was taking until he fell on his back. The poor Valentine spirit lay on the ground, awaiting his sad fate, when…

"Hey, hey, hey!" The April Fool interrupted, ruining the mood, "What's the matter? 'Kat' got your tongue?" The "Fool" couldn't help but laugh at his own joke (while the others didn't). This only made the Nightmare angrier and inched towards the Fool until their eyes went eye-to-eye.

"No." It echoed in a dark, sinister female voice, scaring the April Fool and Cupid, "But I think you'll be the first to know what happens when 'the Nightmare gets your tongue'." The Nightmare snorted viciously, causing both Cupid and the April fool to scream and run in panic until they bumped into each other and fell on the fall, much to the amusement of the others.

"Aw, Onyx, you should be ashamed." Pitch "scolded" the Nightmare as he patted her snout. As the group continued on their way, Pitch noticed Kat's eyes glowing red with rage (literally) for a moment and flashed a sinister grin before making his way beside Time.

"She is proving herself quite worthy." Time stated.

"Yes." Pitch agreed, "_He'll_ be pleased to know." Unknown to the two, their conversation was heard by a certain bird.

* * *

Meanwhile, North tried slicing his way out of his cage, only to have his back break.

"That's got to hurt." Maggie said from inside her cage as she listened to the loud cracking of an old man's back.

"Tooth?" Jack turned his gaze at Tooth's cage.

The Tooth Fairy flapped her wings but couldn't get a single foot off the ground. Sandy tried to use his sand, but it quickly dissipated after a second. Jack tried freezing his cage but was not successful in freeing himself. The group turned to Manny if he has any success getting out of his cage, but instead found him slumping sadly in his cage.

"What are you waiting for, Mate?" Bunny asked, "We've got to get out of here and save Kat… and stop Time from doing whatever he's planning." (the last part he said after the group stared at him.) Instead, the Guardian of Guidance just sighed as his stars began to flicker out.

"Time was right;" He sighed, "I was unworthy to take the place of Mother Nature as a Guardian. Too be honest; I never _wanted _to be a Guardian." The other Guardians gasped at his statement, all except Jack.

"Tell me;" Manny turned his gaze at the Guardians, "Did any of you wanted to be a Guardian for that sense of feeling to see the happiness in children's eyes or for the feeling of being believed in, to be noticed, to be appreciated for being a Guardian?"

"I did." Jack answered while the others remained silent, "You know, it's not easy waking up in a new world, being reborn in a new life and realizing that you're all alone with no one noticing you, as if you're invisible to the world. But now that I think about it, I was being selfish. I was only thinking about myself, about making others at least take notice of me, but I never actually consider what the kids wanted, other than a snow day." The other Guardians lowered their heads in a way as if they feel ashamed.

"Where we, where we really being selfish?" Bunny asked, "I mean, you meant well. You didn't mean to ruin my Easter, again. Guess I was afraid to be not believed in, and to feel alone."

"But we guess…" Tooth said.

"we're not alone." North finished. Sandy nodded his head in agreement, "Neither are you, Manny." The Guardian of Guidance's face began to brighten up (literally).

From her cage, Maggie sniffed a tear before she spoke, "I, I've never been honest with you guys. I mean, I used to believe in myths and legends and fairy tales, when… when I made a wish on a star, and it never came true."

The group turned their gaze at Wish before turning their gaze back at Maggie.

"You stopped believing, all because your wish never came true?" A doubtful Manny asked. Wish showed his displeasure by putting his starry arms on his "hips".

"And what was your wish exactly?" North asked.

"I wished," Maggie shifted her gaze uncomfortably to the Guardians, "I wished, I would always play with my parents day and night. But they never had any time with me. They're always busy with work and I always have to concentrate with my studies just to make them proud."

"So you stopped believing all because the Wishing Star never granted your wish to play with your parents?" Jack asked doubtfully and Maggie nodded.

"Maggie," Manny scolded with a smile, "just because your wish never came true doesn't mean you should stop believing."

"But they say..." Maggie protested.

"I know every child believes in the Wishing Star," Manny cut her off before she could continue, "but in truth, there never was meant to be a 'Wishing Star'."

"What?" Maggie asked in surprise, "Then why..."

"Wish," Manny interrupted once more, "was meant to light up the night sky, to guide the lost back home and to guide the confused to who they are suppose to be." As he said that, Wish began to light up.

Maggie gazed upon Wish's glow, only to realize what Manny really meant; all those times she spent studying by herself and neglecting to join in snowball fights cost her chance to make any friends. Ever since her wild adventure with the Guardians, she began warming up to them, almost considering them as friends instead of "circus freaks".

"I guess I wasn't always meant to be the heiress of Fitzpatrick Corps." Maggie said, "I guess, I only needed some friends." The group smiled at Maggie as she pulled something out of her pockets; a dog leash, "and my little puppy." As she said that, a bark is heard, "I could hear his cute squeaky little puppy bark." Soon the barking became louder, "Okay. Now it's creeping me out. (after another bark…) Haven't I done enough to endure such punishment?!" The barking continued causing Maggie to become even more frightened… until she saw a happy bulldog in front of her cage.

"Butch!" Jack cried.

"Butchy!" Maggie cried in glee as the little bulldog jump towards his owner's cage and gave her a lick, "Oh Butchy! I'm sorry of how I acted earlier. After this is over, we're going to have a nice day of catch, snowball fights and dress-up." The little dog's smile turned to frown upon the mention of "dress-up", "Oh alright. Just catch and snowball fights. But we better get out of here first and save Kat."

At the mention of that name, Butch wasted no time to bite off the bars of the cage. Of course, since they were made of metal…

"Good try though, Mate." Bunny said from inside his cage.

Butch, after falling to the ground (due to exerting too much pressure on the bars), shook himself off the impact. As he turned around, he noticed a pair of feet with sack-like socks standing before him and began to growl.

"Oh no. The henchmen's henchmen." Jack said as he watched Butch face-off Turkey's scarecrow, Goose's eagles, Cupid's cherubs, Lucky's clovers, Pumpkin's bats and Goose's, well, geese.

"Time must have sent them to guard over prisoners." North stated.

"Geese?" Bunny gestured doubtfully at the little geese with matching bonnets.

The giant scarecrow raised an arm at a frightened Butch, only to move out of the way to reveal 3 sad-looking squashes. The middle squash advanced further to Butch, its hands behind its back. He slowly unfurled them to reveal a small, silver key. Butch quickly took the key (with his mouth) and began opening the door of every cage holding a prisoner.

"Woo hoo!" Jack happily screamed for his freedom and began flying out of his cage, only to fall heavily on the ground, "I'm okay." As he picked himself up, he noticed the flower Kat dropped on the ground and picked it up.

"Good boy!" Maggie quickly gave Butch a friendly Noogie, gaining a lick in return, "Very good boy!" Maggie turned her back to see the Guardians and the Constellation, each starry face full of determination and pay-back, "Well what are we waiting for? Let's show that old git who's _really_ boss!"

The group cheered and began following Maggie, until she stopped to look back at the sad henchmen's henchmen. One of Lucky's cats, the littlest of the litter, advanced towards the group, their heads away from the others. As soon as they heard a meow, they turned around to meet with the curious eyes of the kitten. The giant scarecrow fixed its eyes on Maggie who was still holding onto Butch. Then, with a saddened gesture, moved a finger towards its chest and formed an x. It somehow meant something because the other minions sadly lowered their heads in response. Maggie just stared at Butch, when a thought occurred…

"You only want to spend time with your masters, do you?" Maggie asked.

The minions looked at Maggie before nodding their heads grimly.

* * *

Faster than the speed of any land animal, the Constellations passed every corner of the Lunar Lair, some carrying the Guardians, Maggie and their friends on their backs.

* * *

"This is it." Time proudly proclaimed as the other spirits behind him stopped and gazed at his direction, "All those years of waiting has finally come to pass. I shall finally have my moment, just one step closer to fulfil my destiny…as soon as my trusty silver owls get out of the way!"

Upon hearing the angry tone in their master's voice, the owls (who were clearly blocking the way) parted, revealing a large gate covered in intertwining black vines. The vines took up most of the space of the gate that the only thing that seemed visible was a circular object in the middle of the gate, probably a lock.

"My sister's garden." Time advanced further to the gate, "We used to play here when we were little, before I became _this._" Time held out one hand and touched the lock of the gate, only to be thrown away by a force counteracted by the lock.

"Well played, sister." Time picked himself up, "Well played."

"Shocking." Onyx said, causing the others to laugh at her joke.

"Hey, that's my line!" The Fool protested.

"Oh, suck it up, April." Pitch mocked, causing the others to laugh, again (except Kat).

"Casting such a trick, even before her demise just to prevent me from gaining access to the Garden of the Guardians." Time stated, "Now that's low."

"What's the big deal?" Turkey asked, "Taking a stroll in a patch of weeds, picking a bunch of flowers…

"A lovely bunch of flowers." Cupid added amorously, only to be slapped by Kat (he was staring at her).

"Not just 'a flower'." Time glared at both spirits, "And not a lovely bunch of flowers. (walks towards Kat) Seems familiar, my dear?" Time motioned for Kat to walk towards the door.

Kat stared at the door as if it seems familiar to her as Time took her hand and placed it on the lock. Kat closed her eyes and became surrounded by an orange aura which suddenly turned black. As she opened her eyes, they were glowing bloody red. The circular lock seems to have reacted to this as it began to rotate, causing the vines to unravel and wither, opening the gate to the Garden of the Guardians.

The spirits' faces were filled with awe, some filled with surprise and even fear (not because of the Nightmares breathing on their shoulders) for they do not know what awaits them behind those gates. Unmindful of his comrades uneasiness, Time went ahead of the others, eager to find what he was looking for in the mysterious garden. The others hesitantly followed. Kat just stood in place as a grey hand ruffled her hair.

"That's my girl." Pitch whispered in her ear as they went in to join the others.

* * *

Now vines on the door means that no one has ever entered the garden for years. But once the spirits stepped inside, the garden was filled with colourful blooming flowers and other beautiful dazzling flora that seem to sparkle as the stars themselves. Encasing the entire interior of the garden was a see-through glass cover revealing the darkness of space. A waterfall stands-out in the middle of the garden which is probably the reason of Time's attraction.

"This place brings back memories." Time stated as he gazed at the garden before turning his gaze to Kat who also seems to be dazzled by the garden's beauty, "Doesn't it?"

The other spirits also seem to be dazzled by the place. "April" was so dazzled by the beauty of the garden that he accidentally stepped on a flower. He regretted what he did even before the flower was resurrected into a giant thorn-filled mutant version of itself. It grabbed "April" by his feet, mouth open and ... threw him screaming back and forth. The others just stood and stared in bewilderment, some in fear as the poor spirit tried to escape the plant's wrath but was pulled back by his feet.

"Careful." Time warned, advancing further towards the fountain, "The Garden itself is a treasure and a security." Even as he got close, he began entering the waters of the fountain and continued walking until he reached its centre, where a silhouette of flowers are covered by a veil of streaming water. Coincidentally, as Time closed his eyes, the stream parted in half, revealing a cluster of 7 different coloured flowers, each one that seem to sparkle like gems.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Time asked his comrades (April was still being beaten by the plant). As time pointed his staff at the flowers, images flashed inside Kat's head…

* * *

_Two children holding hands, laughing…_

_The same children planting…_

_Another child approaches with a plant…_

_The three children began planting the jewel-like flowers together…_

_Eyes… Laughing… eyes… chasing… Indigo eyes…_

* * *

Kat snapped back to reality as Time's staff began absorbing energy from the flowers causing them to lose they sparkle and wither. Time stood proud with his eyes glowing red as he began to change. The other spirits, except Pitch and Kat stood in fear as Time turned around…

"How do I look?" Time asked. He looked younger than his old self with shorter white hair and beard.

"You… haven't change a bit." Pitch fibbed, noticing the "changes" on Time (which doesn't look like he changed a bit).

Time gave an amused chuckle as he pointed his staff at the sky. A cloud covered the entire interior of the glass, followed by April being shocked by lightning.

"Sorry." Time "apologized" to the barbecued spirit, "I got, 'too excited'." That's when he heard a growl.

"Then why don't we show you some real 'excitement', Time?" Manny appeared with the other Guardians, along with Maggie, the Constellations and their little helpers.

"Honestly Manny, you can be so, disrespectful." Time mocked.

"'Disrespectful'? 'DISRESPECTFUL'?" Manny snapped. Time has finally done it, "What was so disrespectful was you turning your back at your sister, the one being who was there for you since the day you were born. What was disrespectful was you, deceiving us with the innocence of a child-like persona. What was disrespectful was you, invading my home and violating the freedom of my Constellations. What was disrespectful was you toying with the memories of an innocent Spirit, causing her to turn her back at us. What was disrespectful was you destroying the very fragment of that one precious moment of your life." As he said that, Time remembered the moment he and Nature planted the crystal flowers. At the same "time", Manny remembered watching the moment behind a tree, "You know nothing of respect you, you, GIT!"

The others gasp at the Manny's very first insult.

"Huh. Never thought I'd see the day you would use such foul language." A shocked Time exclaimed, "I'm impressed." This surprised Manny as Time took the opportunity to zap him using his staff. Luckily, The Guardian of guidance reflected it back with a moon shield towards a tree, shocking him and everyone else. The tree began to fall on Jack but luckily (and surprisingly) he flew out of the way, increasing Time's anger.

"No. No! NO!" He angrily turned towards a confused Kat, "They were supposed to be stripped off of their powers! You were supposed to make them vulnerable!"

Unbeknownst to Time, his owls were already attacking the Guardians who were already regaining their powers; Tooth was able to fly again, North regained his strength (and his back), Bunny successfully threw his boomerangs and Sandy was able to materialize his sand whips and made sand rats circle above the owls' heads. The other spirits counterattacked and began fighting the Guardians, all except Kat and Pitch.

"I have something else in mind for you." Time said in a sinister tone to a frightened Kat.

As the Guardians fought the other spirits, Jack caught a glimpse of Time opening a portal and was beginning to leave with Kat and Pitch.

"Kat!" Jack call was heard by Manny ran towards Time and pushed him out of the way before he could take one step towards the portal. The other spirits stopped fighting after seeing the portal.

"H-he wasn't really trying to leave without us, was he?"" a shocked Mother Goose asked.

As the other spirits were left baffled on Time's probable betrayal, the other Guardians rushed towards the inside of the waterfall where Time and Manny were already clashing each other.

"I don't understand." Time complained, "How could you have regained your powers?! I…"

"I don't know how you were able to make us vulnerable," Manny interuppted, "but remember this; you can take away our powers,"

"but you could never," Jack continued.

"take away" followed by Bunny.

"the true power" followed by Tooth.

"hidden inside the heart" North followed.

"OF A TRUE GUARDIAN!" All said simultaneously (as Sandy nodded in response).

"A true Guardian?" Time's voice was filled with anger as a sinister aura surrounds him accompanied by blood-red glowing eyes, "There is no such thing as 'true' Guardians. You fools are as weak as those wannabe spirits. Why I wasted my 'time' with them? I'll never know."

"What?" All eyes turned at an aghast Goose. Behind her were the other disturbed spirits, who, apparently, heard everything. The only one not affected by Time's words was Pitch who calmly went towards Time's side with Kat. As she walked, Kat noticed some drawings in the interiors of the cave which seems vaguely familiar to her.

* * *

_Two children painting on a wall…_

* * *

"Oh please." Time gloated, "Did you really think I actually cared about the beliefs of children? I could care less of my own beliefs."

"You never wanted to be believed in?" Manny asked in surprise. The other Guardians themselves were shocked by Time's statement.

"No. I never wanted to rule the children's minds with my myths and legends." Time answered, "I wanted to rule the world! Of course, seeing that I'm in no level with higher authority…" Time stopped as Pitch stomped on his feet.

"Thoroughly explained, Time." Pitch interrupted, "Did you idiots honestly think that the world should be ruled by the 'magic of fairy tales'? You powers are levels of a child's imagination. Honestly, what self-respecting child would even put their beliefs on a bunch of…"

"I would!" Maggie interrupted, "but not just me." She gestured to the spirits' animals.

As the spirits turned their heads towards their animal companions, they could see the sadness in their eyes. Lucky stared at the sad eyes of his littlest kitten and realized his mistake.

"You know;" Lucky turned towards Time, "It doesn't matter if we are believed in or not. As long as we have friends by our sides, we are never alone."

"And that's something we should have realized a long time ago." Goose added with a serious expression on her face. Beside them were the other spirits, giving Time the same serious stare. Pretty soon, the Guardians, Maggie and the Constellations stepped in to join the fight between good and evil.

As fast as any rejuvenated elderly man (ha, ha… I got nothing else to describe), Time once again clashed weapons with Manny before being thrown back against the wall and hurling ball of dark energy back at Manny. Luckily, Jack was there to form an ice barrier to block Time's attack. Unfortunately, the orbs just kept pushing through the ice until it broke, attacking Jack. Emerging from a hole underground, Bunny tried throwing his boomerangs at Time but they stopped mid-air and was thrown back at him. North appeared from another hole and tried to slash his swords while Tooth distracts Time with no success.

In the midst of the battle, Pitch just stood there with Kat by his side, still mesmerized. Both did not take notice of the golden figure behind them with a golden whip on his hand.

Sandy struck his whip, only to have it blocked with Pitch's scythe.

"Did you honestly think I was _that_ afraid of you?" Pitch taunted, attacking Sandy, leaving Kat wide-eyed and gaze at never-ending battle before her, until she slowly turned her gaze at the paintings. The images became clearer to her, taking life before her eye, memories rushing back to her…

* * *

_A garden inhabited by human like beings…_

_Some wore togas…_

_Some had head of animals…_

_They make way for 7 creatures…_

_A phoenix, a tiger, a turtle, a dragon, a wolf, a cheetah_

_The middle one was a little girl with rainbow-like wings…_

_She almost trips and would have fallen down the lake if not for a woman with brown hair adorned with leaves and flowers, wearing a white robe…_

_She smiles…_

_She looks like… she looks like…_

* * *

"Kat!"

Kat awoke to see Time stepping on Jack pointing his staff at him.

"It's 'time' to end this. Finish them!" Time commanded. The others stood there, unsure on what to do to save their friend.

Kat switched her gaze from Jack to Time, until she sadly hung her head, "I'm sorry, Timmy."

Time shot his head in surprise only to be whipped away by a giant plant. Jack stood in surprise before smiling at Kat who smiled in return.

As Time regained his bearings, he noticed the orange aura of energy surrounding an angry Kat. He pointed his staff at her as fear dwelt on his face. As Kat took a step forward, Time's owls tried to attack her only to be blown away with just a swipe of her hand. Pitch's Nightmares charged at her but a wave of water washes them away, much to Pitch's dismay.

"What do you think you're doing, Katherine?" Pitch scolded, trying to take control of the situation, only to receive an angry, orange glowing glare from Kat.

"The name's **Mother Nature**." Kat's voice resonated with a voice of an older woman.


End file.
